A long-term study of the interaction between iron and alcohol in an animal model of iron overload.
OBJECTIVE
The hypothesis that chronic alcohol ingestion potentiates iron-associated liver injury was investigated in the 'carbonyl iron-overload rat model'.


METHODS
Newborn male and female Wistar-Furth rats (seven per group) were used to investigate iron-alcohol interaction over a 26-week period. Groups 1 and 2 were iron loaded from birth, while the others received normal diet. At 10 weeks all rats commenced Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet; additional treatments were: group 1 6 g carbonyl iron/1000 ml diet plus alcohol; group 2 carbonyl iron in the liquid diet; group 3 alcohol in the liquid diet; group 4, the controls, received liquid diet only.


RESULTS
This study confirmed our previous observation that iron-loading from birth resulted in grade III-IV siderosis, in both male and female rats, and caused fibrosis associated with periportal macrophages. Alcohol-feeding, in addition to iron-feeding for 26 weeks significantly lowered the hepatic iron concentration in both male and female rats compared to those fed iron only (p < 0.05). Alcohol feeding did increase hepatic fibrosis in the iron-loaded animals. However, serum alanine aminotransferase activity was significantly higher in the iron-alcohol group than in the other groups (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Thus, contrary to expectation, chronic alcohol feeding failed to potentiate hepatic fibrosis in iron-overloaded rats, although there was rather more hepatocyte necrosis, and the serum alanine aminotransferase activity was significantly higher in the iron-alcohol group than in the other groups.
Olynyk
J
J
University Department of Medicine, Fremantle Hospital, Australia.
Hall
P
P
Reed
W
W
Williams
P
P
Kerr
R
R
Mackinnon
M
M
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D007501:Iron / Q000633:toxicity*; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011920:Rats, Inbred WF; D000637:Transaminases / Q000097:blood
D007501:Iron; D000637:Transaminases