title: A morphological and microanalytical investigation into the uptake of particulate iron across the gastrointestinal tract of rats.
abstract: The uptake and translocation of particulate iron across the gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa of young adult rats has been investigated using a range of morphological techniques and X-ray microanalysis (XRMA). In animals fed a suspension of iron powder constituted of metallic iron particles ranging in size from 6-9 microns down to 5-30 nm, light microscopic histochemistry has clearly revealed iron deposits within the tissues of the duodenum. Scanning electron microscopy of the duodenal tissue by back-scattered electron imaging has complemented the light microscopic observations and revealed a selective localization of iron in the villi with variation in levels of iron uptake by the mucosal cells. Ultrastructural and XRMA analysis of duodenum has established the presence of metallic iron nanoparticles within the brush border, lateral intercellular spaces of the mucosal cells, mitochondrial cristae and cytoplasm of both mucosal and stromal cells. The observations indicate that metallic iron particles, in the nano-size range, may be taken up by the GI mucosa and that the passage of such particles across the epithelial barrier may take place through both a paracellular as well as a transcytotic process.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Science/Anatomy, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: McCullough
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yarwood
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D007501:Iron