Labile iron pool and ferritin content in developing rat brain γ-irradiated in utero

This study was aimed to assess the content of total Fe, Ferritin (Ft) and labile Fe pool (LIP) in developing rat brain exposed in utero to 1 Gy of γ-irradiation. A significant increase (2.3-fold) in the total Fe content of the fetal rat brain irradiated in utero was observed from 1 to 4 h post-irradiation, as compared to the content in non-irradiated brain. Ft was analyzed by immunoblotting. The Ft protein was composed by 20 kDa subunits. According to the analysis of the band density in the Western blot, the Ft content decreased by 77 ± 15% 2 h after γ-irradiation, as compared to the values in non-irradiated samples. The effect of γ-irradiation on the LIP was studied by both electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and by a fluorescence technique employing calcein (CA). A reduction on the LIP was detected at 2 h post-irradiation, independently of the methodology employed for the assay. Since NO content increased in the same time frame of LIP decreasing, a protective role for NO is suggested in fetal rat brain exposed to γ-irradiation. The data presented in this work are the first experimental evidence suggesting that, as part of the network of the cellular response to limit irradiation-dependent injury, a complex interaction between Fe and NO could be triggered.