How does the body boost iron in pregnancy?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-04-16 08:30

Australia; VIC

New research reveals how the body boosts iron in pregnancy supporting blood production and baby growth. During pregnancy, the body suppresses hepcidin, the key hormone that regulates iron levels. This helps women make more red blood cells and increases iron for the developing baby and placenta. A WEHI research team found that a gene named Tmprss6 is critical for the reduction in hepcidin during pregnancy. If there’s a disruption to Tmprss6, iron levels reduce, which could lead to impaired foetal growth.

Journal/
conference: Blood

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: WEHI, The University of Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

Funder: Funders are NHMRC Fellowship GNT2009047, the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand New Investigator . This work was also supported by the Victoria State Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program and the NHMRC Independent Research Institute Infrastructure Support Scheme (IRIISS).

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