Hepcidin is upregulated during inflammation through the activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) transduction pathway, which decreases iron bioavailability and may explain the anemia of chronic inflammatory disease.
Our results further demonstrate a significant correlation of STAT3 mutation with pure red cell aplasia, neutropenia, hepatomegaly, β2-microglobulin and anemia.