Hephaestin, also known as HEPH, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the HEPH gene. Hephaestin is involved in the metabolism and homeostasis of iron and possibly copper.[8] It is a transmembrane copper-dependent ferroxidase responsible for transporting dietary iron from intestinal enterocytes into the circulatory system. The highest expression of hephaestin is found in small intestine. It is limited to enterocytes of the villi (where the iron absorption takes place), being almost absent in crypt cells. Hephaestin converts iron(II) state, Fe2+, to iron(III) state, Fe3+, and mediates iron efflux most likely in cooperation with the basolateral iron transporter, ferroportin 1. To a lesser extent hephaestin has been detected in colon, spleen, kidney, breast, placenta and bone trabecular cells but its role in these tissues remains to be established. Hephaestin presents homology with ceruloplasmin, a serum dehydrogenase protein involved in copper detoxification and storage.
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