EPAS1 and Iron deficiency anemia: During iron deficiency in mammals, hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α, also known as EPAS1) activates the transcription of DMT1, FPN1 and DCYTB genes in the intestine to increase iron absorption (Taylor et al., 2011; Mastrogiannaki et al., 2009; Shah et al., 2009).