Meanings
plural hepcidins
- uncountableusuallyA hormone produced by the liver that regulates iron homeostasis in mammals.
1 more example
The known genetic defects of iron metabolism 14, 25, 26 frequently involve proteins that function as iron transporters/exporters (for example, ferroportin 18), as receptors for iron-binding proteins (for example, transferrin receptor 27 and hemochtomatosis 28), or to regulate the activity of these transporters or receptors (for example, hepcidin 29).
2008 November 26, Masako Kohyama, Wataru Ise, Brian T. Edelson, Peter R. Wilker, Kai Hildner, Carlo Mejia, William A. Frazier, Theresa L. Murphy, Kenneth M. Murphy, “Role for Spi-C in the development of red pulp macrophages and splenic iron homeostasis”, in Nature, volume 457, number 7227, →DOI
Origin
From hep(ato)- (“liver”) + -cide (“killing”) + -in (“compound”), because of its origin and bacteria-killing properties.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Italian epcidina
- epcidinaTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
hepcidin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hepcidin
“hepcidin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hepcidin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hepcidin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hepcidin.
Source: hepcidin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.