Research Information System
Biomedical Research, vol.14, no.2, pp.179-184, 2003 (SCI-Expanded)
The liver is a major site of iron storage. Some patients took iron supplements for many years especially in chronic tranfusion therapy of syndromes including pure red cell aplasia, aplastic anemia and thalassemia. We aimed to investigate ultrastructural aspects of chronic iron-sorbitol overload in rat model relatively in a short period of time. Ten Wistar albino rats (200-250gr) were divided into 2 groups in this study. Group I was administered saline (control group); Group II received iron-sorbitol (Jectofer, Eczacibaşi Pharmaceutical) 2 days a week for 8 weeks at a dose of 400 mg/kg/day. Liver tissues were sectioned for electron microscopy, tissue blocks were embedded in Araldite, random sections were stained in uranyl acetate and lead citrate and scanned in Jeol JEM 1200 electron microscope. Electron microscopic evaluation revealed visible ferritin particles in cytoplasm of paranchymal cells and iron-laden Kupffer cells. Also fibrillar agregattes which were thought to be collagen fibrilles were closely associated with the surface of hepatocytes. In conclusion, our experimental study support the concept that parenteral iron overload may have a direct effect on stimulating collagen synthesis by hepatocytes, and we have observed that the only parenteral form of iron obtained in our country, iron-sorbitol, could produce some morphologic abnormalities alone in a relatively short period of time. This experimental model could be useful for parenteral iron overload investigations.