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Iron Oversupplementation Causes Hippocampal Iron Overloading and Impairs Social Novelty Recognition in Nursing

Peng Ji1, Bo Lönnerdal1, Kwangwook Kim2

  • 1Departments of Nutrition University of California Davis, Davis, CA.

The Journal of Nutrition
|January 10, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Excess iron in infant diets can harm development. This study found that iron oversupplementation in pigs led to iron overload in the brain and impaired social behavior, suggesting potential risks for infant cognitive and social development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Neuroscience
  • Animal Models in Research

Background:

  • Iron oversupplementation in healthy term infants may negatively impact growth and cognitive development.
  • Early-life iron excess is hypothesized to cause systemic and central nervous system iron overload, potentially compromising social behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of early-life iron excess on systemic and central nervous system iron levels.
  • To determine the impact of iron oversupplementation on social behavior in a translational model.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized study using nursing pigs as a translational model.
  • Pigs were assigned to iron-deficient, control, moderate oral iron, or high oral iron groups.
  • Iron levels, gene and protein expression of iron regulators, and sociability were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Moderate and high iron treatments increased hepatic and hippocampal iron concentrations compared to controls.
  • Iron supplementation altered the expression of iron regulatory proteins (DMT1, HAMP) and transferrin receptor (TFRC).
  • Pigs receiving iron supplementation showed deficits in social novelty recognition despite normal overall sociability.

Conclusions:

  • Duodenal ferroportin showed hyporesponsiveness to iron excess.
  • Iron overload in the hippocampus was observed in supplemented pigs.
  • Impaired social novelty recognition was a key finding in nursing pigs with iron oversupplementation.
Abstract

Keywords:
hippocampusiron overloadnursing pigoxidative stresssocial recognition

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