Abstract
Concentrations of 16 metals in the scalp hair of male Crohn’s disease (CD) patients (n = 28) were compared to those of male control subjects (n = 25). The majority of patients (n = 20) took an anti-inflammatory agent (mesalazine), and several patients underwent colectomy. A low concentration of serum ferritin was observed in approximately 50% of CD patients due to Fe-deficiency anemia. The concentrations of Fe, Cr, and Co in the hair of CD patients were significantly higher than those of control subjects, and particularly high concentrations were found in CD patients with low serum ferritin. Significant correlations were found among the concentrations of Fe, Cr, and Co in the hair of CD patients, but not in control subjects. In agreement with previous reports, a significant negative correlation was found between ferritin and transferrin concentrations in serum, although the available data in this study was limited (n = 8). Transferrin not only binds to Fe3+ but also to Cr3+ and Co3+, and the amount of transferrin is increased in Fe-deficiency anemia. Thus, the majority of the Fe3+, Cr3+, and Co3+ in the serum of CD patients is likely to bind to transferrin, which may be associated with the higher concentrations of those metals, as well as the significant correlations among those metals in the scalp hair of CD patients. In addition, colectomy may alter the intestinal absorption rate of some metals, while mesalazine may increase the concentrations of Mn and some metals in the scalp hair by chelate formation.
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Acknowledgements
We deeply appreciate the assistance of Dr. Toshifumi Ashida (Sapporo Tokushukai Hospital) for undertaking the hair sampling from CD patients.
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This work was supported by Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research (C) (No. 16K00863 T.E. and No. 17K00870 O.K.) from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science.
All procedures were performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All participants took part in the present studies on a voluntary basis and were informed about the experimental procedures. Informed consent was signed by all volunteers before the investigation.
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HO and TE contributed to the conception and design of the research. AM, SF, and TI contributed to the hair sampling and acquisition and the data of CD patients. HO, MH and OK contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data. TE drafted the manuscript.
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Ogasawara, H., Hayasaka, M., Maemoto, A. et al. Levels of major and trace metals in the scalp hair of Crohn’s disease patients: correlations among transition metals. Biometals 34, 197–210 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-020-00272-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-020-00272-y