Although iron chelation by desferrioxamine has been shown to inhibit osteoclasts and prevent bone loss in ovariectomized mice (Ishii et al., 2009) and in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (Guo et al.), the intrinsic functions of Tfr1 and Tfr1-mediated iron uptake in osteoclast lineage cells in vivo have not been investigated using genetically modified mouse models. Here, TFRC is linked to early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease.