Human hepcidin induces acute hypoferremia in mice. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with 50 μg hepcidin or its diluent and analyzed 4 hours later. (A) Serum iron concentrations. (B) Concentration of mouse hepcidin-1 mRNA in the liver measured by qRT-PCR, normalized to β-actin mRNA concentration, and shown as a ratio to the median value in diluent-injected mice. Box and whisker plots represent median, 25% to 75% range, and 10% to 90% range.