Impact of long term Fe3+ toxicity on expression of glutathione system in rat liver

• Living organisms need a certain amount of iron to perform many metabolic processes.
• The body iron requirements are firmly regulated and orchestrated by liver.
• Heavy metals cause various modifications to DNA, protein and enzymatic levels.
• Toxic effects of iron on the expression of glutathione system were investigated.

The free radicals within the body, produced by metabolic activities or derived from environmental sources are relatively related to hepatoxicity. Since heavy metals including iron have the ability to produce free radicals, the liver glutathione system neutralizes them to protect cells against any damage. The objective of this study is to indicate the toxic effects of iron on the glutathione system at the enzymatic and molecular level. Thus, any possible correlation between enzymatic and molecular levels can be determined. According to our results, while mRNA expression of glutathione reductase (Gsr) and glutathione S-transferases (Gsta5) genes were not affected by long-term exposure to various concentrations of iron (Fe3+), transcription level of glutathione peroxidase (Gpx2) was influenced in the presence of toxic iron. Whereas the enzyme activites of GSR (GR), GPX and GST were significantly affected in rat liver.