[Red cell ferritin in non-leukaemic various erythropoietic disorders]

Red cell ferritin (rFt) values were measured in 18 patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), 7 patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS), 8 patients with megaloblastic anemia (MA), and 6 patients with polycythemia vera (PV). Furthermore, rFt was analyzed by column isoelectric focusing (IEF). The rFt values (Mean +/- SD) for healthy males and females are 14.3 +/- 10.3 and 7.5 +/- 3.6 ag/cell (ag = 10(-18)g), respectively, and a significant difference was noted between them by Student's t-test (p < 0.01). The mean rFt values in IDA, HS, MA, and PV patients were 1.9, 115.5, 198.3, and 3.3 ag/cell, respectively. The rFt values in IDA and PV patients were significantly lower than normal. However, there was no significant difference between levels presented in the two disease states. The rFt levels in HS and MA were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects. The isoelectric point (pI) of rFt determined by IEF in healthy subjects ranged from 5.1 to 5.7. The pI ranges for IDA patients showed a slight basic shift compared with those of normal subjects, and so did the ranges for PV patients. Marked increase in acidic red cell ferritin was detected by IEF in patients with IDA after iron therapy. The pI ranges for HS patients were diverse, and were considered to depend on the severity or clinical stage of the disease. The rFt of MA patients showed pI ranges similar to healthy subjects and the ranges differed little after Vitamin B12 therapy, irrespective of a drastic decrease in rFt concentration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)