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Assessment of iron absorption in mice by ICP-MS measurements of 57Fe levels

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Abstract

Background

The study of iron metabolism is essential in nutritional sciences as iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in humans and represents a serious health problem worldwide. The mouse is utilized as a unique and powerful model for the identification and characterization of genes involved in iron metabolism and for studying the pathogenesis of iron disorders. Thus, sophisticated and sensitive techniques have been developed to study iron metabolism in this animal model. In particular, iron absorption has been studied in mice by using the radioisotopes 55Fe and 59Fe in tied-off or dissected and everted duodenal segments. Nevertheless, several drawbacks discourage the extended use of these approaches.

Methods and results

Here, we report the use of the stable isotope 57Fe to measure iron absorption in mice. We show that after oral administration of 57Fe-containing solutions, it is possible to measure both duodenal iron retention and duodenal iron transfer to specific organs, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As 57Fe is administered orally, no surgical operation is needed before the end of the experiment, thus allowing the measurement of iron absorption under physiologic conditions. Moreover, the use of ICP-MS for 57Fe detection ensures high sensitivity and provides quantitative data. Finally, the use of a stable isotope enables the measurement of both iron absorption and histologic and/or biochemical analyses in the same animal.

Conclusions

The use of 57Fe to measure iron absorption in mice, therefore, represents an alternative to radioisotope-based methods, providing a new tool to extend our knowledge on the mechanism of iron absorption.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Antonello Pietrangelo for Hfe-null mice and Radhika Srinivasan for editing of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research to E.T. and F.A., and by the Regione Piemonte to F.A.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biotechnology Center, Department of Genetics, Biology and Biochemistry, University of Torino, Via Nizza 52, 10126, Turin, Italy

    Veronica Fiorito, Simonetta Geninatti Crich, Lorenzo Silengo, Fiorella Altruda, Silvio Aime & Emanuela Tolosano

  2. Department of Genetics, Biology and Biochemistry, University of Torino, Turin, Italy

    Veronica Fiorito, Lorenzo Silengo, Fiorella Altruda & Emanuela Tolosano

  3. Department of Chemistry IFM, University of Torino, Turin, Italy

    Simonetta Geninatti Crich & Silvio Aime

Authors
  1. Veronica Fiorito
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  2. Simonetta Geninatti Crich
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  3. Lorenzo Silengo
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  4. Fiorella Altruda
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  5. Silvio Aime
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  6. Emanuela Tolosano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emanuela Tolosano.

Additional information

Veronica Fiorito, Simonetta Geninatti Crich, Silvio Aime and Emanuela Tolosano are equally contributed.

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Fiorito, V., Geninatti Crich, S., Silengo, L. et al. Assessment of iron absorption in mice by ICP-MS measurements of 57Fe levels. Eur J Nutr 51, 783–789 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-011-0256-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-011-0256-6

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