Increased hepcidin expression and hypoferraemia associated with an acute phase response are not affected by inactivation of HFE

The effect of HFE inactivation on iron homeostasis during an acute phase response was investigated in mice. HFE knockout, beta(2)-microglobulin knockout and C57BL/6J mice were injected with Freund's Complete Adjuvant to induce an acute phase response and hepatic hepcidin expression and serum transferrin saturation was determined 16 h later. Hepcidin mRNA increased in all strains in response to an acute phase stimulus when compared with untreated control animals. Hypoferraemia also occurred in all strains, indicating that both the upregulation of hepcidin and the decrease in transferrin saturation associated with an acute phase response is not dependent on HFE function.