Role of Hepcidin in the Regulation of Intestinal Iron Absorption. Inflammation induces the synthesis of hepcidin by the liver, which then promotes the internalization and degradation of ferroportin, a transmembrane iron exporter, impairing the export of iron from macrophages and duodenal enterocytes. This process leads to decreased serum iron and, with time, an iron-restricted anemia. Thus, induced expression of hepcidin is a key mechanism of the anemia of inflammation.Figure adapted and redrawn from: Diagnosis and management of iron deficiency anemia in patients with IBD. Jürgen Stein, Franz Hartmann & Axel U. Dignass. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 7, 599-610 (November 2010). doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2010.151