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A Large Proportion of The Neonatal Iron Pool is Acquired from the Gestational Diet in a Murine Model
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A Large Proportion of The Neonatal Iron Pool is Acquired from the Gestational Diet in a Murine Model

Shiloh R Lueschow-Guijosa, Kathryn R Michels, Drew E Latta and Jennifer R Bermick
The Journal of nutrition, Vol.154(7), pp.2065-2075
07/2024
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.021
PMCID: PMC11282491
PMID: 38797484
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.021View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Background Iron is crucial for growth and development, but excess iron is harmful. Neonatal mice have elevated concentrations of circulating iron, but the source of this iron is unclear. This lack of understanding makes it difficult to optimize early life iron balance. Objectives Identify the origins of neonatal tissue-specific iron pools using dietary manipulation and cross-fostering murine models. Methods To determine whether tissue-specific neonatal iron was primarily acquired during gestation or after birth, pups born to iron-sufficient or iron-deficient dams were cross-fostered, and tissues were harvested at postnatal days 3–5 to measure iron content. A separate set of female mice were fed a diet enriched with the stable iron isotope 57 (57Fe) for 4 generations to replace naturally abundant liver iron isotope 56 (56Fe) stores with 57Fe. To quantify the proportions of neonatal iron acquired during gestation, pups born to dams with 56Fe or 57Fe stores were cross-fostered, and tissues were harvested at postnatal day 3–5 to determine 56Fe:57Fe ratios by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Finally, to quantify the proportion of neonatal iron acquired from the maternal diet, female mice with 56Fe or 57Fe stores switched diets upon mating, and pup tissues were harvested on P0 to determine 56Fe:57Fe ratios by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results Perinatal iron deficiency resulted in smaller pups, and gestational iron deficiency resulted in lower neonatal serum and liver iron. Cross-fostering between dams with 56Fe and 57Fe stores demonstrated that ≤70% of neonatal serum, liver, and brain iron were acquired during gestation. Dietary manipulation experiments using dams with 56Fe and 57Fe stores showed that over half of neonatal serum, liver, and brain iron were from the dam’s gestational diet rather than preconception iron stores. Conclusions This study provides quantitative values for the sources of neonatal iron, which may inform approaches to optimize neonatal iron status.
 Pregnancy dietary iron cross-foster iron deficiency murine model newborn iron isotopes

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