Autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR) is unique among the disorders involving Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) because individuals with R176Q/W and R179Q/W mutations in the FGF23 176 RXXR 179 /S 180 proteolytic cleavage motif can cycle from unaffected status to delayed onset of disease. This onset may occur in physiological states associated with iron deficiency, including puberty and pregnancy. To test the role of iron status in development of the ADHR phenotype, WT and R176Q-Fgf23 knock-in (ADHR) mice were placed on control or low-iron diets. Both the WT and ADHR mice receiving low-iron diet had significantly elevated bone Fgf23 mRNA. WT mice on a low-iron diet maintained normal serum intact Fgf23 and phosphate metabolism, with elevated serum C-terminal Fgf23 fragments. In contrast, the ADHR mice on the low-iron diet had elevated intact and C-terminal Fgf23 with hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. We used in vitro iron chelation to isolate the effects of iron deficiency on Fgf23 expression. We found that iron chelation in vitro resulted in a significant increase in Fgf23 mRNA that was dependent upon Mapk. Thus, unlike other syndromes of elevated FGF23, our findings support the concept that late-onset ADHR is the product of gene-environment interactions whereby the combined presence of an Fgf23-stabilizing mutation and iron deficiency can lead to ADHR.Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man no. 193100) is characterized by low serum phosphate concentrations due to isolated renal phosphate wasting, inappropriately normal or low serum 1,25(OH) 2 vitamin D (1,25D) concentrations, and rickets/osteomalacia and fracture (1). Heterozygous missense mutations in the fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) gene cause ADHR (2). These mutations replace the arginine (R) residues at positions 176 or 179 with glutamine (Q) or tryptophan (W) within a 176 RXXR 179 / S 180 subtilisin-like proprotein convertase (SPC) site that separates the conserved FGF-like N-terminal domain from the variable Cterminal tail (2-4). Acting through the coreceptor α-Klotho (5) and a fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) (5, 6), FGF23 reduces renal phosphate reabsorption through down-regulation of the sodium phosphate cotransporters NPT2a and NPT2c and suppresses kidney 1,25(OH) 2 vitamin D production by inhibiting and increasing vitamin D 1α-hydroxylase (Cyp27b1) and 24-hydroxylase expression (Cyp24), respectively (7). Compared with WT Fgf23 protein, ADHR-mutant FGF23 shows increased but not complete resistance to SPC proteolytic cleavage (3, 4). When expressed in mammalian cells, the R176Q-, R179Q-, and R179W-FGF23 proteins are secreted primarily as the full-length (32-kDa) polypeptide, in contrast to the full-length and cleavage products (20 and 12 kDa) typically observed for WT FGF23 (3). This proteolytic event inactivates the mature FGF23 polypeptide, as full-length FGF23, but not N-terminal fragments (residues 25-179) or C-terminal fragments (residues 180-251), reduces serum phosphate concentrations when injected into rodents (4).The ADHR...