Provided are methods for increasing hepcidin expression, treating a disorder associated with iron overload, decreasing non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI), reducing spleen size, ameliorating ineffective erythropoiesis, decreasing iron uptake by erythroid cells, and increasing transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) expression in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering to said subject a therapeutically effective amount of a modified iron binding/releasing transferrin, wherein said modified iron binding/releasing transferrin comprises an N-lobe and a C-lobe, and wherein one of said lobes binds iron, and wherein one of said lobes has a decreased binding affinity for iron.
