Energy Metabolism Derangement of the Hepatic Tissue Following Severe Iron Restriction to Rats and its Recovery by Iron Therapy

The effect of severe iron deficiency on hepatic energy metabolism of the rat and of an oral therapy with an iron-protein complex (1TF 1096) on the same parameters has been studied. Severe iron deficiency was induced in rats by rearing nursing dams and their offspring on a diet lacking in iron. The iron-deficient 5-week-old rats exhibited severe anemia and a drastic decrease in iron content of the hepatic tissue and of the mitochondrial fraction. A large increase in liver lipid concentration was observed in iron-deficient animals, whereas there was no modification in the lipid composition of mitochondrial membranes. Mitochondria from anemic rats presented a partial and reversible uncoupling of the oxidative phosphorylation process. The energy state of the liver, as assessed by 31P-NMR spectroscopy, appeared dramatically decreased under this pathological condition. Iron therapy, for 1 week, almost completely corrected severe anemia and the level of iron either in the hepatic tissue or in the mitochondrial fraction. Moreover, iron supplements significantly decreased the abnormal level of liver total lipids and serum triglycerides. In parallel, iron repletion fully reverted both the partial loss of coupled function in isolated mitochondria and the energy state perturbation of the liver.