Zinc, cadmium, and iron interactions during intestinal absorption in iron-deficient mice

Zinc absorption from a test dose of (65Zn) zinc chloride was increased in mice with a high capacity to absorb iron induced by a low-iron diet. When radiolabelled zinc chloride in concentrations varying from 0.025 to 0.30 mM was perfused through open-ended duodenal loops of mice fed this diet, the proportion of zinc taken up from the lumen and transferred to the body was greater from lower than from higher doses. The addition of iron to the perfusate inhibited zinc uptake and transfer, and zinc had a similar effect on iron absorption. Cadmium, a potent inhibitor of iron uptake in mice fed a low-iron diet, impaired zinc uptake under these dietary conditions. These results suggest that in dietary-induced iron deficiency there are analogous mucosal binding sites for the uptake of iron and zinc. There also appear to be mutually exclusive binding sites for the absorption of these metals: radiolabelled iron absorption from an intragastric test dose was enhanced in mice with a high capacity to absorb iron produced by bleeding, whereas the absorption of zinc was not increased.