Foot-shock Stress-Induced Regional Iron Accumulation and Altered Iron Homeostatic Mechanisms in Rat Brain

Abstract

Like in other organs, iron in the brain plays an important role in various biological processes. Previous studies have shown that systemic iron homeostasis in mammalians was changed under specific stress conditions. The present study aimed to investigate effects of stress on brain iron homeostasis in rats using a foot-shock stress model. Young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to foot-shock stress group subjected to 30 min of cutaneous foot-shock (0.80 mA, 1 pulse/s, 300 ms duration) daily for 1 week or control group left undisturbed. Then, the rats were sacrificed and iron concentration in serum, liver, and some brain regions were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Expression of ferritin, Transferrin receptor (TfR), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1, with or without iron-responsive element), lactoferrin (Lf), and iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) in rat hippocampus were determined using western blot analysis. The results showed that stress induced decreased serum iron concentration, increased liver iron content, and elevated iron contents in specific brain regions including hippocampus, striatum, and frontal cortex. In the hippocampus, stress caused decreased expression of ferritin, increased expression of TfR and IRP1, and no change in expression of DMT1 or Lf. Results of this study demonstrated that foot-shock stress induced region specific iron accumulation and altered iron homeostatic mechanisms in the brain in addition to a changed systemic iron homeostasis characterized by decreased serum iron concentration and increased liver iron content. And, elevated IRP1 expression might be associated with the increased TfR and decreased ferritin expression, leading to subsequent iron accumulation and possible increased vulnerability to oxidative damage in hippocampus.