Transfer of 59Fe to reticulocytes from transferrin in the serum of children with signs of protein-calorie malnutrition
Scaro, J.L.; Martín, B.; Torrejón, I.
Sangre 29(3): 287-293
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-4355 PMID: 6435267 Document Number: 221846
The amounts of transferrin-bound 59Fe in the sera of school-children, taken up by reticulocytes, was studied in an in vitro system. Subjects were residents in a rural area where protein-calorie malnutrition is endemic. Sera from children with low Hb concentration, high TIBC [total Fe binding capacity] and low transferrin saturation produced the lowest values of 59Fe uptake by the cells. The reduction was independent of changes in transferrin saturation from 10-85% introduced either before or concomitantly with the labeling procedure. When mixtures of 2 sera with different TIBC and 59Fe donating capacity were used, the amounts of 59Fe taken up by the reticulocytes were clearly proportional to the relative amounts of each serum in the mixture but independent of their transferrin saturation. The possibility that the quantitative changes of TIBC that consistently accompany the anemia of malnutrition might be associated with alterations of the functional competence of the transferrin-Fe complex as the specific supplier of Fe for erythropoiesis is discussed.