These control sites may be influenced by gene therapeutic approaches; one general therapy for hemochromatosis of different etiologies is the inhibition of DMT1 synthesis by antisense-generating genes, which has been shown to markedly inhibit apical iron uptake by intestinal epithelial cells.
Transferrin receptor co-localizes and interacts with the hemochromatosis factor (HFE) and the divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT1) in trophoblast cells.
In iron deficiency a coordinated upregulation of the iron transporters divalent-metal-transporter-1 and ferroportin and of duodenal-cytochrome b and hephaestin was found, whereas in patients with HFE and non-HFE-associated hemochromatosis duodenal-cytochrome b and hephaestin protein and mRNA expression were not significantly different from control subjects.
The purpose of the present study was to analyze the coding region of the Nramp2 gene in 14 hemochromatosis probands which did not carry any HFE mutations on both chromosomes.