Description
Hepcidin preprohormone, prohormone, and hormone size are 84, 60, and 25 amino acids, respectively. Twenty- and 22-amino acid forms of Hepcidin also exist in the urine. The N terminal region is required for function, and deletion of 5 N-terminal peptides results in a loss of function. The conversion of prohepcidin to hepcidin is mediated by the prohormone convertase furin, which conversion might be regulated by the alpha-1 antitrypsin