Does lead use the intestinal absorptive pathways of iron? Impact of iron status on murine 210Pb and 59Fe absorption in duodenum and ileum in vivo

BackgroundHuman isotope studies and epidemiological trials are controversial as to whether lead absorption shares the absorptive pathways of iron and whether body lead content can be reduced by iron supplementation.AimTo compare the impact of iron-deficiency on 59Fe- and 210Pb-absorption rates in duodenal and ileal segments.Methods59Fe- and 210Pb-absorption was determined in ligated duodenal and ileal segments from juvenile and adult iron-deficient and iron-adequate C57Bl6 wild-type mice (n = 6) in vivo at luminal concentrations corresponding to human exposure (Fe: 1 and 100 μmol/L; Pb: 1 μmol/L).Results and discussion59Fe-absorption increased 10–15-fold in iron-deficient duodena from adult and adolescent mice. Ileal 59Fe-absorption was 4–6 times lower than in iron-adequate duodena showing no adaptation to iron-deficiency. This in accordance to expectation as the divalent metal transport 1 (DMT1) shows low ileal expression levels. Juvenile 59Fe-absorption was about twice as high as in adult mice. In contrast, duodenal 210Pb-absorption was increased only 1.5–1.8-fold in iron-deficiency in juvenile and adult mice and, again in contrast to 59Fe, ileal 210Pb-absorption was as high as in iron-adequate duodena.ConclusionsThe findings suggest a DMT1-independent pathway to mediate lead absorption along the entire small intestine in addition to DMT1-mediated duodenal uptake. Ileal lead absorption appears substantial, due the much longer residence of ingesta in the distal small intestine. Differences in lead-solubility and -binding to luminal ligands can, thus, explain the conflicting findings regarding the impact of iron-status on lead absorption. They need to be considered in future studies.

► Absorption of 210Pb increases much less than that of 59Fe in murine duodena. ► 210Pb-absorption is almost equally high in murine duodenal and ileal segments. ► 59Fe absorption is much lower in ileal than in duodenal segments. ► There must be an additional DMT1-independet pathway for intestinal Pb absorption.