Principle Hepcidin Anemia Chronic Disease

In a chronic condition (like SLE), the liver will secrete Hepcidin, an inflammatory mediator that sequesters (saves) Iron that would other be consumed by, perhaps the invading pathogens.

Hepcidin inhibitis ferroportin -> Decreased Iron absoprtion the gut –> (-)exit of Iron from iron-exporting-cells ( RBCs,macs,hepaticytes) –> Iron sequestered into the Liver –> Low Serum Iron for new RBC –> Anemia –> Normocytic

TIBC is NORMAL or LOW due to cytokine-mediate suppression of Transferrin