DMT1 Facilitates Heme-iron Absorption in Rats and Mice.

DMT1 is essential for heme-iron absorption, with knockout models showing an 8-fold reduction in uptake in rats and severe anemia in mice.

• Why it matters: Understanding how heme-iron is absorbed is crucial because it accounts for a significant portion of dietary iron intake, yet its mechanisms remain unclear, impacting nutritional and medical strategies.
• What they did: The study used Belgrade rats with dysfunctional DMT1 and intestine-specific DMT1 knockout mice, measuring radiolabeled heme-iron absorption and assessing effects on erythropoiesis under iron deficiency.
• The result: Findings demonstrate DMT1's critical role in facilitating both heme and non-heme iron absorption, enabling efficient iron uptake and preventing anemia under dietary iron deficiency conditions.