(A) Serum ERFE concentration was elevated in
Tmprss6−/− mice similarly to WT
(wild-type) mice 24 hours after phlebotomy, but was lower than in thalassemic mice
(Th3/+). (B,C) Neither liver hepcidin mRNA expression nor serum
hepcidin were significantly different in Erfe−/−
Tmprss6−/−
(E−/−,T−/−) mice compared to
Erfe+/+
Tmprss6−/−
(E+/+,T−/−) or Erfe+/−
Tmprss6−/−
(E+/−,T−/−) mice. (D) Liver iron content was
similarly lower in Tmprss6−/− mice compared to
WT mice regardless of the Erfe genotype whereas spleen iron content
(E) was comparable to those of WT mice. (A–E) The
number of mice studied is shown for each group. Data shown are means ± SEM.
Statistical analysis was performed compared to WT controls of the same gender, using the
two-tailed Student t-test (***P<.001,
**P<.01, *P<.05) or Mann-Whitney test
(##P<.01, #P<.05). M=male,
F=female. (F) Hepcidin mRNA expression was strongly reduced in
primary hepatocytes from WT and Tmprss6−/−
mice 16 hours after treatment with conditioned medium containing ERFE (final concentration
500 ng/ml of recombinant ERFE), both in 5% serum or serum-free conditions. Data
shown are means ± SEM of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis was
performed using two-tailed Student t-test (***P<.001,
**P<.01, *P<.05).