Dietary hemoglobin rescues young piglets from severe iron deficiency anemia: Duodenal expression profile of genes involved in heme iron absorption.

ABSTRACT: Heme is an efficient source of iron in the diet, and heme preparations are used to prevent and cure iron deficiency anemia in humans and animals. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for heme absorption remain only partially characterized. Here, we employed young iron-deficient piglets as a convenient animal model to determine the efficacy of oral heme iron supplementation and investigate the pathways of heme iron absorption. The use of bovine hemoglobin as a dietary source of heme iron was found to efficiently counteract the development of iron deficiency anemia in piglets, although it did not fully rebalance their iron status. Our results revealed a concerted increase in the expression of genes responsible for apical and basolateral heme transport in the duodenum of piglets fed

SUBMITTER: Staron R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5514692 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature