Hepcidin ablation attenuates B abortus–induced anemia and iron restriction. (A) B abortus–treated Hamp-KO mice (HKO) develop milder anemia than their WT counterparts and completely recover by 28 days. Hamp-KO B abortus vs WT B abortus, day 7 or 21, P < .05; Hamp-KO B abortus vs WT B abortus, day 14 or 28, P < .001, n = 3 to 8 per time point. (B) Unlike their WT counterparts, B abortus–injected Hamp-KO mice increase their serum iron levels. Hamp-KO B abortus vs Hamp-KO saline, day 14, P < .05; WT B abortus vs WT saline, days 7, 14, 21, and 28, P < .05. (C) B abortus–treated WT mice have dramatically increased RBC ZPP, indicating iron-restricted erythropoiesis, compared with the very modest increases of ZPP in Hamp-KO mice. (D) B abortus–treated Hamp-KO mice mobilize iron from liver iron stores, whereas their WT counterparts mildly increase their stores in the face of anemia. Hamp-KO B abortus vs Hamp-KO saline, day 14, P < .001; day 28, P < .05. WT B abortus vs WT saline, day 7 or 14, P < .001; day 21, P < .05. Means ± SD are shown. P value by Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test. WT data shown in A-C are identical to those from Figure 1A-B,D.