Hepatic gene expression profile of rats fed an iron-deficient diet

Iron is an essential nutritional element; its deficiency in the body causes nutritional problems and a decrease in iron storage that can lead to anemia. The liver not only stores iron but is an important metabolic target as well. Dietary iron deficiency is associated with changes in the metabolism of nutrients such as lipids. However, to the best of our knowledge, a global analysis detailing the consequences of iron deficiency in the body has not yet been reported. We performed a comprehensive transcriptome analysis using DNA microarray technology to reveal the effects of iron deficiency on hepatic gene expression. Four-week-old rats were fed an iron-deficient diet or a control diet for 16 days. On day 17, the rats were sacrificed under anesthesia, and their livers were dissected for DNA microarray analysis. We identified 600 up-regulated and 500 down-regulated probe sets to characterize the iron-deficient diet group. The up-regulated probe sets contained genes for enzymes that are involved in cholesterol, amino acid, and glucose metabolisms, as well as in apoptosis. The down-regulated probe sets included genes for enzymes associated with lipid metabolism. Additionally, the 16-day iron-deficient diet induced anemia. Our gene expression analysis revealed that, as a result, cholesterol biosynthesis, gluconeogenesis, and apoptosis due to endoplasmic reticulum stress were accelerated, while fatty acid biosynthesis was suppressed by dietary iron deficiency. Our analysis also showed that cholesterol metabolism, including bile acid biosynthesis, was accelerated in the initial stages of cholesterol accumulation.

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Kamei A, Watanabe Y, Ishijima T, Uehara M, Arai S, Kato H, Nakai Y, Abe K