Fig. 4

Metabolic processes of Cu + in the human body. Cu⁺ is absorbed in the small intestine, transported to the blood via ATPase copper transporter alpha (ATP7A) and bound to ceruloplasmin (CP), then transferred to the liver via copper transporter 1 (CTR1) and stored in the liver bound to metallothionein (MT), then can be transported to the blood via ATPase copper transport beta (ATP7B) or excreted into the bile