Erythroferrone: the missing link in β-thalassemia?

In this issue of Blood, Kautz et al show that the ablation of the erythroid-derived factor erythroferrone (ERFE), which has been shown to be highly expressed in β-thalassemic mice, restores hepcidin levels and corrects iron overload. However, correction of hepcidin levels in those mice does not improve anemia of β-thalassemia.