mRNA expression of the intestinal iron transporters.s mRNA levels of (A) Dcytb, (B) DMT-1, and (C) ferroportin were measured in age- and sex-matched C57BL/6, Hfe^−/−, and Hfe^VillinCre mice by quantitative real-time PCR. Groups of male (m) and female (f) mice are represented separately. Mean mRNA expression in C57BL/6 males was arbitrarily set as 1; all other data are expressed in relation to this. Significant differences in mRNA expression are marked by asterisks (*P < .05; **P < .005, Student t test). Mean values are represented by horizontal bars.