These findings are consistent with expectations that high levels of iron flux through ferritin, high rates of ferritin turnover, and high rates of iron transfer to the mitochondria require elevated NCOA4 and PCBP1/2 levels (Mancias et al., 2015) and provide preliminary evidence that movement of iron between sub-cellular compartments is altered in MDS erythroblasts, especially in early stages of terminal erythropoiesis, partially normalized by DFP. Here, NCOA4 is linked to myelodysplastic syndrome.