Is serum soluble transferrin receptor concentration an accurate estimate of the mass of tissue receptors?
Serum sTfR represents a constant proportion of the total mass of tissue TfR over a wide range of erythropoietic activity. However, iron deficiency results in a higher proportion of serum sTfR, and the pace of change in serum sTfR levels is slower than that of tissue TfR mass.
hA3G appears to be a cellular restrict factor against HCV and could be a potential target for drug discovery.