Reciprocal changes of muscle oxidases and liver enzymes with recovery from iron deficiency

We determined the recovery time courses of muscle oxidases and liver enzymes after iron administration to iron-deficient rats. Female 21-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were fed an iron-deficient (3 mg Fe/kg) or a control (50 mg Fe/kg) diet for 3 wk. The deficient rats were then injected with 50 mg Fe as iron dextran/kg body wt (Fe-T) or saline (Fe-) intraperitoneally. At 16, 40, 64, 112, and 180 h after injection, blood and tissue samples were taken to determine hemoglobin concentration (Hb), gastrocnemius glycolytic enzyme and oxidase activities, and liver amino acid catabolic enzyme activities. No changes were observed in any parameter across time in either the Fe- or control (Fe+) rats. In the Fe- rats, Hb, pyruvate + malate (P + M), 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG), and succinate oxidases (SO) were depressed to 33, 36, 44, and 7% of Fe+, respectively (P less than 0.05). At 16 h, Fe-T values were significantly elevated compared with Fe- rats but still only 40, 48, 55 and 10% of controls, respectively. Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and alanine aminotransferase (AAT) of Fe- rats were 174 and 134% of control values (P less than 0.05). By the 180-h time point, Hb, P + M, 2-OG, and SO of Fe-T rats increased to 99, 84, 89, and 43% of Fe+ values, whereas GDH and AAT activities declined to 111 and 106% of controls. Glycolytic enzymes showed no systematic changes with iron deficiency or after iron administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)