Serum hepcidin may be a novel uremic toxin, which might be related to erythropoietin resistance

The clinical importance of serum hepcidin in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is unclear. The database of a large-scale multicentre prospective study in Korea of 2238 patients enrolled from 2011–2016 was analysed. After excluding patients with missing serum hepcidin (n = 125) and haemoglobin (n = 23) levels, the study included 2090 non-dialysis CKD patients. Markers of inflammation and iron status were positively associated with serum hepcidin level, regardless of CKD stage. However, estimated glomerular filtration rate was inversely associated with serum hepcidin level, particularly in patients with CKD stages 3b–5 but not in those with CKD stages 1–3a. Use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents was associated with increased serum hepcidin levels, particularly in patients with CKD stages 3b–5 but not in those with CKD stages 1–3a, and serum hepcidin levels positively correlated with the dose of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent. These findings suggest that serum hepcidin may be a uremic toxin and play an important role in erythropoietin resistance. However, future prospective studies are needed to confirm our results.