Investigation of morphological changes in absorptive cells in young adult and infant mice fed different amounts of iron for a long-term.
The changes in fine structure of the intestinal tract in young adult (4 week-old) and infant (2 week-old) mice fed a diet containing different amounts of iron salt (Fe-0, Fe-2.5, Fe-25: 0, 2.5 and 25 mg Fe/100 g diet, respectively) for a long-term (1 or 2 weeks) were investigated. The hepatic iron levels in infant mice fed Fe-25 for 2 weeks were significantly higher than those observed after 1 week of feeding, but there was no such increase in young adult mice during the feeding period. Observations of fine structure indicated typical signs of impairment of enterocytes due to excess iron such as the opening of intercellular junctions between adjacent epithelial cells and the marked appearance of eosinophilic leukocytes outside the basement membrane in young adult and infant mice fed Fe-25. The frequency of the opening in intercellular junctions increased in young adult mice fed Fe-25 for 2 weeks, but decreased in infant mice. On the contrary, under iron-deficient conditions, the frequency in infant mice was higher than that in young adult mice. The appearance of eosinophilic leukocytes indicated that some immunological reaction was elicited in both groups of mice fed Fe-25 for 2 weeks.
Hirohata
Y
Y
Central Institute for Electron Microscopic Researches, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
Adachi
A
A
Aihara
K
K
Kanda
S
S
Hagiwara
T
T
Ozawa
K
K
Fukuwatari
Y
Y
Hayasawa
H
H
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013997:Time Factors
D006454:Hemoglobins; D019266:Iron, Dietary; D007501:Iron