Effect of prenatal iron deficiency on myelination in rat pups

In this study, a histopathologic examination of the brain from iron-deficient or iron-supplemented rat pups was carried out. Pups were obtained from female rats, which were fed an iron-deficient or iron-supplemented diet during both pregnancy and lactation. Immediately after anesthesia and the collection of blood, pups were fixed by intracardiac infusion of 2% glutaraldehyde. Brain and cervical spinal cord were fixed, embedded in paraffin, and cut at 6-mu thickness. Myelin was identified using Luxol fast blue stain. As compared with controls (hematocrit, 30.8%), 11-day-old iron-deficient pups (hematocrit, 11.9%) showed reduced myelination in the spinal cord. Although myelination increased somewhat in the iron-deficient 17-day-old pups (hematocrit, 8.5%), the amount of myelin in the spinal cord and white matter of cerebellar folds was reduced as compared with that of the corresponding controls. These observations show the importance of prenatal iron adequacy in myelinogenesis.