Ferritin / Apoferritin

For several decades, Scripps Laboratories offered the highest quality native Ferritin available anywhere. Native tissue shortages have disrupted our ability to continue supplying native Ferritin, but we are pleased to offer recombinant Apoferritin as a replacement. The recombinant product is highly purified, sustainable, and it performs comparably to native Ferritin.

Our Recombinant Apoferritin is the multi-subunit ferritin molecule, but it does not contain any iron atoms. It has been assayed on multiple clinical analyzers and is a suitable replacement for native Liver and Spleen Ferritin. It is ≥95% pure by SDS-PAGE and it is produced without affinity tags, so the final product is the unmodified, intact protein.

Large, bulk lots of Recombinant Apoferritin are in stock and available now: Recombinant Apoferritin, H+L Chains, ≥95%

• Comparable to Native Ferritin
• Multi-Subunit Whole Molecule
• Heavy-Chain and Light-Chain Subunits
• No Affinity Tags
• Large, Bulk Lots
• Steady Supply

Ferritin Background Information...

Ferritin is a water-soluble, iron storage protein found in most animal cells. Its spherical structure is composed of 24 subunits and contains a 7-nm internal cavity with a ferric oxyhydroxide crystalline core that is capable of storing approximately 4500 iron atoms. Iron passes in and out of the ferritin cavity through 0.34-0.40 nm pores in the outer shell. Up to 25 ferritin isoforms are thought to exist, composed of various combinations of two distinct subunits: heavy chain ferritin and light chain ferritin. Derived from two different genes, heavy chain ferritin is 21 kDa and light chain ferritin is 19 kDa.

Ferritin rich in the heavy subunit is found in the heart, brain, kidney, red blood cells, lymphocytes, monocytes, and placenta. The light chain is the predominant subunit of ferritin produced in the liver, spleen, bone marrow, and skeletal muscle. Most of the ferritin found in human plasma comes from the liver and spleen, so plasma ferritin is rich in the light chain. As the heavy chain is required for iron uptake, plasma ferritin contains very little iron.

Ferritin is a water-soluble, iron storage protein found in most animal cells. Its spherical structure is composed of 24 subunits and contains an 8-nm internal cavity with a ferric oxyhydroxide crystalline core that is capable of storing approximately 4500 iron atoms. Iron passes in and out of the ferritin cavity through 0.34-0.40 nm pores in the outer shell. Up to 25 ferritin isoforms are thought to exist, composed of various combinations of two distinct subunits: heavy chain ferritin and light chain ferritin. Derived from two different genes, heavy chain ferritin is 21 kDa and light chain ferritin is 19 kDa. It is the heavy chain that is required for iron uptake.

Ferritin rich in the heavy subunit is found in the heart, brain, kidney, red blood cells, lymphocytes, monocytes, and placenta. The light chain is the predominant subunit of ferritin produced in the liver, spleen, bone marrow, and skeletal muscle. Most of the ferritin found in human plasma comes from the liver and spleen, so plasma ferritin is rich in the light chain and contains considerably less iron than ferritin found in tissues. Furthermore, plasma ferritin comes from damaged tissues in which the ferritin has shed its iron atoms to a certain extent. As such, plasma ferritin contains approximately 6.8% iron by weight, while the iron content in tissue ferritin can be 20% or greater.

In the body, ferritin is the primary iron source for hemoglobin synthesis, but hemoglobin itself accounts for more of the body's total iron content. When plasma iron levels decrease below normal levels, ferritin readily releases its iron stores for use. Plasma levels of ferritin are known to closely parallel tissue ferritin levels and are, therefore, indicative of body iron content. As such, monitoring ferritin plasma levels is useful in detecting and managing iron-related syndromes, such as iron deficiency anemia and iron overload. 

Ferritin is also a biomarker of acute and chronic inflammation. It is elevated in several inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, erythematosus, chronic kidney disease, acute infections, thyroiditis, and more. In addition, ferritin plasma levels aid in COVID-19 severity assessment and prognosis, as hyperferritinemia associates strongly with disease severity and mortality. Ferritin testing has expanded further into oncology as a companion diagnostic for monitoring patients with breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma, among others.

Ferritin has long been used in clinical diagnostics to monitor iron-related disorders, but recent studies have revealed several conditions for which ferritin measurement is beneficial, if not essential. Studies are ongoing and the clinical utility of ferritin measurements will continue to expand in the diagnostic sector.