FTL and infection: Conversely, metallothionein-2 (MT2), a secreted protein that mediates zinc uptake across the apical membrane, and ferritin (FTL1/FTH1), which stores free cellular iron, were both transcriptionally downregulated and found in lower abundances during the late infection phases, failing to recover by 48 DPI (Fig. 3A, G to I), suggesting that changes to cIEC metal ion homeostasis have not recovered by 48 DPI.