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Associations between serum transferrin receptor concentrations and erythropoietic activities according to body iron

Jong Weon Choi1, Soo Hwan Pai

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Inha University, Inchon, South Korea. jwchoi@inha.ac.kr

Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science
|September 6, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Iron deficiency increases immature red blood cell production, indicated by higher middle-fluorescence reticulocytes (MFR) and reticulocyte maturity index (RMI). Erythropoietic activity correlates more strongly with ferritin levels than serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentrations in anemic children.

Area of Science:

  • Hematology
  • Nutritional Science
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Iron deficiency is a global health issue affecting children.
  • Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a marker for iron status, but its relationship with erythropoiesis in varying iron deficiency stages needs clarification.
  • Reticulocyte subpopulations offer insights into red blood cell production and maturation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the associations between serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentrations and erythropoietic activities across three stages of human iron deficiency.
  • To compare the correlation of reticulocyte subpopulations with serum ferritin and sTfR concentrations in iron-deficient anemic children.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of serum iron markers, reticulocyte fluorescent intensity, and sTfR concentrations in 227 children aged 9-12 years.
  • Analysis of reticulocyte subpopulations (including MFR and RMI) using flow cytometry.
  • Enzyme immunoassay for sTfR concentration determination.

Main Results:

  • Significantly higher MFR, RMI, and sTfR concentrations were observed in children with iron-deficiency anemia compared to healthy controls.
  • MFR and RMI increased with diminishing iron status, showing a 3-fold rise in subjects with serum ferritin < 4.0 microg/L.
  • Correlation analysis revealed stronger associations between MFR/RMI and log ferritin values (r=0.43/0.42) than with sTfR concentrations (r=0.24/0.27) in iron-deficiency anemia.

Conclusions:

  • Iron deficiency stimulates the production of immature reticulocytes.
  • Erythropoietic activity in iron-deficiency anemia is more closely linked to ferritin levels than to sTfR concentrations.
  • Reticulocyte subpopulations serve as sensitive indicators of erythropoietic response to iron status.

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