The iron-binding proteins are transferrin (siderophilin), lactoferrin (found in milk, tears, saliva, bile, seminal secretions, and cervical mucus), and desferrioxamine (a fungal product). Mucosal transferrin binds iron in the lumen of the gut to transport it across the brush border of the intestinal mucosa. Plasma transferrin transports protein and binds two atoms of iron; its half-life is eight days, but varies widely because iron deficiency itself is a stimulus to transferrin formation.
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