Hemosiderin

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Hemosiderin

Hemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
-storage complex (ferritin

Ferritin

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Hemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
-storage complex (ferritin

Ferritin

Ferritin is a globular protein complex consisting of 24 protein subunits and is the main intracellular iron storage protein in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, keeping it in a soluble and non-toxic form....
being the other). It is always found within cells (as opposed to circulating in blood) and appears to be a complex of ferritin, denatured ferritin and other material. The iron within deposits of hemosiderin is very poorly available to supply iron when needed.

Several diseases result in deposition of Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide in tissues in an insoluble form. These deposits of iron are called hemosiderin. Although these deposits often cause no symptoms, they can lead to organ damage.

Hemosiderin is most commonly found in macrophages

Macrophage

Macrophages are white blood cells within tissues, produced by the division of monocytes. Human macrophages are about 21 micrometres in diameter....
and is especially abundant in situations following hemorrhage, suggesting that its formation may be related to phagocytosis

Phagocytosis

File:Phagocytosis in three steps.pngPhagocytosis is the cell process of Phagocytes and Protists of engulfing solid particles by the cell membrane to form an internal phagosome, which is a food vacuole, or pteroid....
of red blood cells and hemoglobin

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....
. Hemosiderin can accumulate in different organs

Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a biological tissue that performs a specific function or group of functions. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues....
in various disease

Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
s.

Iron is required by many of the chemical reaction

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that always results in the interconversion of chemical substances. The substance or substances initially involved in a chemical reaction are called reactants....
s (i.e. oxidation-reduction reactions) in the body but is toxic when not properly contained. Thus, many methods of iron storage have developed.

In blood

Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
and liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
, Humans store iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
within a protein

Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
called ferritin

Ferritin

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
in ferritin is Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide

Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide

A number of species are dubbed iron oxide-hydroxide. These chemicals are oxide-hydroxides of iron, and may occur in anhydrous or hydrated forms....
. By complexing with ferritin, the iron is made water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
soluble.

Pathophysiology

Hemosiderin often forms after bleeding (hemorrhage). When blood leaves a ruptured blood vessel, the cell dies and the hemoglobin

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....
of the red blood cells is released into the extracellular space. White blood cell

White blood cell

White blood cells , or leukocytes , are cell of the immune system defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials....
s called macrophage

Macrophage

Macrophages are white blood cells within tissues, produced by the division of monocytes. Human macrophages are about 21 micrometres in diameter....
s engulf (phagocytose

Phagocytosis

Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of vertebrates, and the tissues of some invertebrates....
to degrade it, producing hemosiderin

Hemosiderin

Hemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron-storage complex . It is always found within cells and appears to be a complex of ferritin, denatured ferritin and other material....
and porphyrin

Porphyrin

Porphyrins are a group of chemical compounds of which many occur in nature, such as in green leaves and red blood cells, and in bio-inspired synthetic catalysts and devices....
.

Diseases associated with hemosiderin deposition

Hemosiderin may deposit in diseases associated with iron overload. These diseases are typically diseases in which chronic blood loss requires frequent blood transfusion

Blood transfusion

Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to Physical trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery....
s, such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia

Thalassemia

Thalassemia is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disease. In thalassemia, the genetic defect results in reduced rate of synthesis of one of the globin chains that make up hemoglobin....
.