MOBILIZATION OF IRON AND IRON-RELATED PROTEINS IN RAT SPLEEN AFTER INTRAVENOUS-INJECTION OF LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDES (LPS)

We used lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to provoke immune responses and observed the changes in the localization of iron and iron-related proteins, such as transferrin receptor, ferritin and hemosiderin in the rat spleen. After intravenous injection of 250 mu g LPS (salmonella minnesota R595), spleen weight and serum IgM levels increased, cells incorporating 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), and transferrin receptor positive cells increased in the peripheral portion of the periarterial lymphoid sheath (PALS), the marginal zone (MZ) and the follicles. Ferritin positive cells increased markedly in the white pulp and stainable iron increased in the marginal metallophils (MM) and in the macrophages in the MZ and the outer PALS. Even in iron deficient rats, a similar change was observed for the localization of iron and iron-related proteins after injection of LPS. After injection of 0.4 mg keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), changes similar to but less pronounced than that in the LPS injected rats were observed for serum IgM levels and for the localization of iron and iron-related proteins. These results showed that the iron in the MM and the macrophages in the white pulp have a dynamic response to immunological challenges and suggested that they play some role in immune responses.