| First Author | Muckenthaler MU | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Blood Cells Mol Dis | Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 125-31 |
| PubMed ID | 15315790 | Mgi Jnum | J:108561 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3624239 | Doi | 10.1016/j.bcmd.2004.05.003 |
| Citation | Muckenthaler MU, et al. (2004) Molecular analysis of iron overload in beta2-microglobulin-deficient mice. Blood Cells Mol Dis 33(2):125-31 |
| abstractText | Beta2-microglobulin knockout (beta2m-/-) mice represent an instructive model of spontaneous iron overload resembling genetic hemochromatosis. The mechanism of iron accumulation in this mouse model may be more complex than involving the MHC class I-like protein HFE. We report that beta2m-deficient mice, like Hfe-/- mice, lack the adaptive hepatic hepcidin mRNA increase to iron overload. The inverse correlation of hepatic iron levels and hepcidin mRNA expression in six beta2m-/- mice underlines the importance of hepcidin in regulating body iron stores. In contrast to Hfe-/- mice, beta2m-deficient mice display increased expression of the duodenal iron transporters DMT1 and ferroportin 1. This result implicates a broader role of beta2m in mammalian iron metabolism, suggesting that (an) additional beta2m-interacting protein(s) could be involved in controlling iron homeostasis, and highlighting the emerging connection of iron metabolism with the immune system. |
