Hepcidin level in sera of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus in Babylon province

Background: The most prevalent disease in the world, is chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB). It has several causes like, drugs, alcohol consumption, toxicity and auto-immune disease, but in most cases it is caused by hepatitis viruses (viral hepatitis). Hepcidin regulates the body iron negatively by binding to the cellular iron exporter ferroportin in target cells, like macrophages, enterocytes and making its internalization and deprivation, thus reducing iron efflux into plasma causing decrease serum iron level and an elevated in intracellular iron. Materials and Methods: One hundred subjects; 50 diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B virus and 50 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Age ranged between (20–60) years (for patients and control). Hepcidin and ferritin level in serum were estimated by enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, while serum iron concentration was calculated by the Siemens Dimension by Direct method (Ferene). Results: In chronic hepatitis B virus group serum hepcidin, ferritin and iron levels significantly elevated compared with control group (P < 0.01). On the other hand, the current study observed significant (p value <0.05) positive correlation for hepcidin with ferritin and iron in (CHB) patients. Conclusion: Among chronic hepatitis B patients in Babylon province, increase the level of some iron regulatory parameters; indicate the significant linked with the progression of chronic hepatitis B virus.