340-Hepcidin-Iron Axis Impairs Antiviral Immunity

Paper Talk · Dec 26, 2025 · 16m

The article details a study on the pathogenesis of systemic rotavirus (RV) infection and biliary atresia (BA) in neonates, highlighting a critical role for the hepcidin-iron axis. The authors, Xu et al., explain that RV infection triggers persistent Type I Interferon (IFN-I) signaling, which upregulates hepcidin in liver macrophages (specifically TREM2+ macrophages) and hepatocytes. This dysregulation impairs iron export, leading to systemic iron overload and subsequent ferroptosis-mediated tissue damage in the liver and intestines. Critically, the study demonstrates that folic acid (FA)…