HBA1 and infection: Compared to the untreated control, THP-1-dMs in the AB + THP-1-dMs group at 4 h post infection exhibited a significant upregulation of iron-binding proteins, including lactotransferrin (TRFL; log2FC, 2.01), heme scavenging associated proteins (e.g., serum albumin [ALBU; log2FC, 2.01], hemoglobin subunit alpha [HBA1; log2FC, 1.13), and apolipoprotein A-I [APOA1; log2FC, 1.74]) (Fig 3).