Dose dependence of hepcidin mRNA expression in primary mouse hepatocyte cultures exposed to different transferrin saturations. Primary mouse hepatocytes were isolated from wild-type C57BL/6J mice (n = 5 mice). Mixtures of apotransferrin and holotransferrin were added to hepatocyte cultures at a total transferrin concentration of 30 μM. Hepcidin mRNA concentration at each transferrin saturation level was plotted as fold increase in comparison to 30 μM apotransferrin treatment alone (0% transferrin saturation). Means and standard deviations are shown. Increasing transferrin saturations resulted in progressive increase in hepcidin mRNA in primary hepatocytes.