Rat Hemojuvelin / HFE2 Gene ORF cDNA clone expression plasmid,C terminal GFP tag

Hemojuvelin, also known as HFE2, is a membrane-bound and soluble protein which belongs to the repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) family. It is known that RGMs function through Neogenin, a homologue of the Netrin receptor deleted in colon cancer. In mammals, RGM family consists of three glycoproteins which have discrete expression patterns and functions (RGM-A, RGM-B, and RGM-C). Hemojuvelin is expressed in adult and fetal liver, heart, and skeletal muscle. Hemojuvelin acts as a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) coreceptor. Enhancement of BMP signaling regulates hepcidin (HAMP) expression and iron metabolism. It plays a key role in iron metabolism. Hemojuvelin represents the cellular receptor for hepcidin. It may be a component of the signaling pathway which activates hepcidin or it may act as a modulator of hepcidin expression. Defects in hemojuvelin are the cause of hemochromatosis type 2A, also known as juvenile hemochromatosis (JH).

Papanikolaou G, et al. (2004) Mutations in HFE2 cause iron overload in chromosome 1q-linked juvenile hemochromatosis. Nat Genet. 36(1):77-82.

Babitt JL, et al. (2006) Bone morphogenetic protein signaling by hemojuvelin regulates hepcidin expression. Nat Genet. 38(5):531-9.

Zhang AS, et al. (2008) Neogenin-mediated hemojuvelin shedding occurs after hemojuvelin traffics to the plasma membrane. J Biol Chem. 283(25):17494-502.