Meeting Report: Intestinal BMP6, a Master Gene for the Regulation of Iron Homeostasis

Intestinal iron absorption is critical for normal iron balance and is regulated by hepcidin which is synthesized predominantly in the liver. Hepcidin regulates plasma iron concentrations and tissue iron distribution by inhibiting iron absorption and mobilization of iron from stores in macrophages and hepatocytes. Dysregulation of hepcidin production induces many iron disorders. Reduced production of hepcidin, as in hereditary hemochromatosis, causes systemic iron overload, whereas excess of hepcidin contributes to the development of anemia. Recently, two papers published in Nature Genetics demonstrated the impor…