... (http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/blast/Blast.cgi).Binding of A1AT to preprohepcidin, prohepcidin and mature hepcidin The cDNA of A1AT was cloned into pTRG with the restric-tion sites EcoRI and XhoI, and the coding cDNAs of prep-rohepcidin, ... secretion. To generate the mature25-AA hepcidin peptide, there is a furin cleavage site in the C-terminal part of prohepcidin.E. Pandur et al. In vivo interactions of preprohepcidin and prohepcidinFEBS ... MALDI-TOF) and in vivo (ELISA, cross-linking assay). Our results demonstrated that the serine protease inhibitor a-1 antitrypsin binds preprohepcidin within the cell during maturation. Furthermore,...