Adria Rothman Sherman

Fatty acid patterns in iron-deficient maternal and neonatal rats

To determine the effects of maternal iron deficiency on lipid composition and fatty acid patterns in offspring, rats were fed ad libitum diets containing 5 ppm iron (deficient) (n=8) or 320 ppm iron (control) (n=7) and deionized water from day-1 of gestation through day-18 of lactation. On day-2 of lactation, litters were standardized to three male and three female pups. On day-18, pups were fasted for 4 hr before tissue and blood collection. Significant changes in serum and liver lipid concentrations and fatty acid patterns were observed in deficient pups. Serum triglycerides, cholesterol and phospholipids and liver triglycerides, cholesterol, and cholesteryl esters were increased. In deficient pups, percentage total fatty acids of 14∶0, 16∶1, 18∶1, 18∶2 from serum lipids were increased; in liver, 14∶0, 18∶2, 18∶3 were increased; 18∶0 and 20∶4 were decreased in both serum and liver. Dam serum lipid levels did not differ between groups. Lipid changes observed in iron-deficient pups did not consistently reflect the milk, serum or liver lipid patterns observed in dams. Altered lipid composition and fatty acid patterns of iron-deficient pups thus appear to be of endogenous origin.

Serum lipids in suckling and post-weanling iron-deficient rats

Serum lipids were studied in iron-deficient and control rats during suckling and after weaning at 21, 30, and 60 days of age. Diets providing 5 or 307 ppm iron were fed to dams and their offspring during gestation, lactation, and after weaning. Rats on the deficient diet throughout the experimental period developed a hyperlipidemia characterized by elevated triglycerides, cholesterol, and phospholipids which was present at 21, 30, and 60 days. Control pups weaned to the deficient diet developed anemia at 30 days of age and hypertriglyceridemia at 60 days of age. Repletion of deficient rats with iron after weaning caused a rapid decline in serum lipid levels after only 9 days on the control diet. The hyperlipidemia of iron deficiency thus appears to be reversible with iron supplementation. The time required to develop hypertriglyceridemia in iron deficiency is longer postweaning than during suckling.

Iron status of suckling rats as influenced by maternal diet during gestation and lactation

1. Two experiments are reported. In Expt 1, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (200-220 g) were given purified diets containing 35, 75, 150 or 300 mg Fe/kg throughout gestation and lactation. In Expt 2, the levels of Fe given were 250 and 300 mg/kg diet. 2. Litters were standardized at birth to contain seven pups. On day 20 of lactation blood, milk, spleen and liver were collected for Fe analysis. 3. A dietary Fe concentration of 35 mg/kg maintained maximum weight gain, food intake, liver and spleen weight, haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume in the growing maternal rat through 20 d of lactation. Dam liver and spleen Fe concentrations were maximized between 75 and 250 mg Fe/kg diet. 4. Pups (20-d-old) nursed by dams given 35 mg Fe/kg tended to have lower body and organ weights compared to other groups. Liver and spleen Fe concentrations increased with increasing maternal dietary Fe and were significantly increased between 150 and 250 mg Fe/kg.

Phagocytosis and lysozyme activity in granulocytes from iron-deficient rat dams and pups

Abstract The effect of dietary iron deficiency during gestation and lactation on phagocyte function in rat dams and pups was investigated. Pregnant rats were fed ad libitum diets containing 7, 10 or 250 ppm iron throughout gestation and until day 17 of lactation when dams and their litters (7 pups) were sacrificed. Phagocytosis was measured by the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye reduction test. Lysozyme activity was measured in granulocytes separated from peripheral blood. A significant increase in percent phagocytes in whole blood in the 7 ppm iron pups was observed. Total white blood cell (WBC) counts were similar among groups. The 7 ppm iron pups had markedly decreased NBT reduction (per 10 8 phagocytes). On a per ml of blood basis, there were no differences in NBT reduction among groups. Plasma activities of the two granulocyte enzymes measured, lysozyme and peroxidase, were significantly increased in 7 ppm iron pups. It was shown that this increase in plasma lysozyme activity was not due to an increased concentration of lysozyme in granulocytes.

Milk folate secretion and folate status of suckling pups during iron deficiency

Abstract The present study was designed to determine when in lactation maternal iron deficiency results in a depression of milk folate secretion and the extent to which the quantity of folate delivered to the nursing rat pup is diminished. Dams (n=42) were fed diets containing 2 mg/kg folate and either 8 (Fe-) or 250 (Fe+) mg/kg iron throughout gestation and lactation. On either d 7, 12 or 17, dams were milked and animals were sacrificed. Both free and total milk folate activities increased from d 7 to d 17 among Fe+ animals (p

Copper and iron deficiencies: effects on serum lipids and tissue minerals

Abstract To study the interrelationship between iron and copper on serum lipid concentrations, four diets were fed to growing rats: iron and copper deficient, copper-deficient, iron-deficient, iron and copper adequate. After 18 weeks, concentrations of iron and copper in organs and lipids in sera were determined. Iron deficiency alone or combined with copper deficiency resulted in reduced body weights, hemoglobin concentrations, hematocrits, and iron concentrations in liver, spleen, and heart. Hepatic copper was elevated 8-fold in iron deficiency. Copper deficiency alone or combined with iron deficiency resulted in reduced copper concentrations of liver and spleen and reduced ceruloplasmin. Serum triglycerides and cholesterol did not differ among experimental treatments. No significant effects of the interaction between dietary iron and copper on serum lipid levels were found.

Serum and secretory proteins in iron-deficient rat pups and dams

Abstract The effects of iron status during reproduction on serum and secretory proteins in rat dams and pups were studied. Pregnant rats were fed ad libitum diets containing 10 or 250 ppm iron throughout gestation and lactation. Litters were adjusted on day 1 to contain 7 pups, and on day 17, dams and pups were sacrificed. Iron status was determined, and concentrations of various serum and secretory proteins were measured. Iron-deficient pups had lower hemoglobin, serum iron, and liver iron compared to controls. Serum albumin and globulin concentrations were significantly increased in iron-deficient pups. Pup serum lysozyme and myeloperoxidase levels were unchanged by iron deficiency. The serum protein profile of dams was relatively unaltered by dietary iron deficiency. Milk iron concentration was significantly decreased in iron-deficient dams; however, milk from all dams was similar in concentration of three immunoproteins measured: lysozyme, peroxidase, secretory IgA. Salivary total protein, lysozyme, and secretory IgA concentrations were similar between groups of dams. It is concluded that dietary iron deficiency during reproduction which does not retard growth of pups but does deplete iron stores has a minimal effect on the secretory immunoproteins measured.

Maternal and neonatal tissue lysozyme levels: effects of iron nutriture in rats.

Summary The results of this investigation indicate that iron deficiency in the suckling rats alters immunodevelopment with respect to lysozyme activity. It was also found that suckling and mature rats have different tissue distributions and activities of lysozyme. The health and biomedical implications and significance of these findings are unclear at present. The authors express sincere appreciation to Dr. Klaus Kuettner and Larry Masden, Department of Biochemistry and Orthopedic Surgery, Rush Medical College, Chicago, for performing the milk lysozyme analyses. Barbara Kochanowski and Karen Stratz are thanked for their skilled technical assistance. This study was supported in part by Grant HL 18712-03, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, and funds provided by the School of Human Resources and Family Studies, University of Illinois.

Lysozyme and Other Measures of Immunity in Young, Mature, and Aged Rats

Lysozyme, peroxidase, serum proteins, and immunoglobulins were measured in young (1 month), mature (13 months), and aged rats (25 months). Circulating levels of immunoglobulins G and A increased with maturity as did the globulin fraction of serum protein. Concentration of the bactericidal enzyme, lysozyme, was significantly increased in serum and kidney and significantly decreased in spleens of aged rats.