Abstract
Sn protoporphyrin (SnPP) and Sn mesoporphyrin (SnMP), potent inhibitors of heme oxygenase (HO), significantly suppress bilirubin production, lower serum and biliary bilirubin levels and increase biliary heme output in animals and man. In this study, 20 healthy volunteers, 7 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and 4 patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis were treated with SnPP and 4 healthy volunteers with SnMP. In all cases, serum ferritin levels increased substantially but transiently after administration of these HO inhibitors. Values returned to baseline within a few days. Infusion of hematin in 4 healthy volunteers did not significantly affect ferritin levels. No increases occurred in 7 other acute-phase reactants. The observation that these HO inhibitors transiently increase serum ferritin levels implies a link between ferritin, iron metabolism and HO activity which may be usefully explored in disorders of iron metabolism.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 51-56 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Pharmacology |
Volume | 59 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1999 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Bilirubin
- Ferritin
- Heme
- Heme oxygenase inhibitors
- Iron metabolism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology