Effect of iron therapy on phagocytosis and bactericidal activity in neutrophils of iron-deficient infants

Abstract

Phagocytosis and bactericidal capacity of neutrophils were measured in 10 iron-deficient infants age 6-23 mo. All infants had hemoglobins less than 11 mg/dL with low saturation of transferrin and serum ferritin but were otherwise in good health. Neutrophil function and iron status were assessed at 0, 3-5, 15, 30, and 90 days of oral iron therapy. Phagocytosis was unaffected in iron deficiency and remained unchanged during therapy. Bactericidal capacity was severely impaired prior to treatment. After 3-5 days of ferrous sulfate administration, there was no significant improvement. At day 15 it returned to normal ranges and remained so at days 30 and 90. The sequence of events suggests that iron does not have a direct effect upon circulating neutrophils but, rather, that it is required during the development of neutrophils in the bone marrow.

Association between iron status and white blood cell counts in African schoolchildren of the North-West Province, South Africa

“…Several studies have examined the associations between iron status and immune response in different populations [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], most of which were conducted on infants, adults and women. It has been shown that measures of iron status such as ferritin, which is an acute-phase protein, are elevated in the presence of infection or inflammation [20].…”

Altered Iron Metabolism in Children With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disease

“…Although hepcidin was not measured in this study, levels of this recently identified regulator of iron metabolism are known to be elevated in inflammatory states, leading to decreased iron absorption [33], which may be the case in this sample. Because iron deficiency is linked to developmental delay, poor growth, and impaired immune function, it should be treated promptly, even before anemia develops [24,34,35]. It is important to note that, while a low hemoglobin would likely trigger investigation and treatment of anemia, iron deficiency often goes unnoticed as it is not identifiable on a routine blood count.…”

Effects of Iron Supplementation on Auditory Brainstem Response in Marginally LBW Infants

“…Morbidity from infectious disease is increased in iron-deficient populations (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), because of the adverse effect of iron deficiency on the immune system (27)(28)(29)(30). In these situations, leukocytes have a reduced capacity to kill ingested microorganisms (31)(32)(33)(34) and lymphocytes a decreased ability to replicate when stimulated by a mitogen.…”