Description
Ferritin is a highly specialized protein whose main function is to store excess iron intracellularly. It is widely distributed throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. In mammalian tissues, ferritin is present in concentrated form in spleen, liver and the intestinal mucosa. Ferritin is not a structurally homogeneous protein since purified preparations, when examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, show multiple bands. Immunologically, ferritins appear to be species specific but not organ specific.