Plasma Iron and Iron - Binding Capacity in Homozygous

To explore the pathogenesis of nontransfusional iron overload in iron-loading anemia, we examined features of external iron exchange. internal iron kinetics. and tissue iron burden in adult mice with inherited gene-deletion 9-thalassemia. Mice homozygous for $-thalassemia display moderate anemia, reticulocytosis. and shortened red cell survival. whereas heterozygous carriers appear hematologically normal. Quantitative iron determination revealed that iron content and concentration in liver. spleen. and kidney. but not heart. were far higher (P < .01 ) in 1 5-to 35-week old homozygous thalassemic mice than in agematched normal and heterozygous controls; of these tissues. iron content increased with age only in kidneys