Hepatotoxicity Associated with Dietary Iron Overload in Mice

Abstract

1 Weanling male CD-1 mice were fed 120 (control), 5000 and 8000 mg of iron kg^-1 for seven weeks. The haematocrit (P=0.265), water consumption ( P=0.170) and percentage body weight ratios of kidney, spleen and heart were not affected by iron supplementation.

2 Iron supplementation reduced weight gain (P=0.023), increased weight of liver (P=0.0001), the iron deposition index and concentration of iron in the liver (P<0.01). A strong correlation between liver iron concentration and level of iron in the diet (r=0.989) was observed. Histologically, the deposition of iron was restricted to the hepatocytes, Kupffer cells and splenic macrophages.

3 Consumption of 5000 and 8000 mg of iron kg^-1 resulted in hepatic damage, as judged by elevated serum alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase activities (P<0.05).

4 This study indicates that prolonged feeding of excess dietary iron has the potential to cause hepatic accumulation of iron with resultant liver toxicity, and that mice may be a suitable model to study the mechanisms of dietary iron overload.