Induction of autophagy in rat hippocampus and cultured neurons by iron

Autophagy occurs in the brain after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Iron is an important factor causing neuronal death and brain atrophy after ICH. In this study, we examined whether iron can induce autophagy in the hippocampus and in cultured neurons. For in vivo studies, rats received an infusion of either saline or ferrous iron into the right hippocampus and were killed 1, 3, or 7 days later for Western blot analysis of microtubule-associated protein light chain-3 (LC3). For in vitro studies, primary cultured cortex neurons from rat embryos were exposed to ferrous iron. Cells were used for Western blot analysis of LC3 and monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining 24h later. Intrahippocampal injection of ferrous iron resulted in an increased conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II. Exposure of primary cultured neurons to ferrous iron also induced an enhanced conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II. MDC labeling showed an accumulation of MDC in cultured neurons exposed to ferrous iron. These results indicate that autophagy is induced by iron in neurons and that iron-induced autophagy may contribute to brain injury after ICH.