Circulating pro- and antioxidant factors in iron and porphyrin metabolism disorders.
Ital J Gastroenterol Hepatol
; 31(9): 861-7, 1999 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-10669994
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Porphyria cutanea tarda and haemochromatosis are taken to be spontaneous human models of oxidative cellular damage, with an increased risk of fibrosis and cancer evolution.AIM:
To define the relative pro-oxidant roles of porphyrin and iron, in their different molecular forms, and their effects on antioxidant biological systems. PATIENTS A group of 17 patients with porphyria cutanea tarda and a group of 14 patients with primary and secondary haemochromatosis, were compared with 21 healthy controls.METHODS:
Plasma retinol, tocopherol, alpha- and beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, glutathione, malonyldialdehyde and red blood cell free iron were determined using high performance liquid chromatography.RESULTS:
Only a modest increase in iron stores was demonstrated in the porphyria cutanea tarda group; in the haemochromatosis patients ferritin levels were almost seven times higher. By contrast, there was a sharp and virtually identical increase in red blood cell free iron and malonyldialdehyde in both the patient groups. A significant reduction was observed in retinol, alpha-, beta-carotene and red blood cell glutathione levels being more marked in porphyria cutanea tarda than in haemochromatosis patients.CONCLUSIONS:
The study confirms the strong pro-oxidant effects of porphyrins in vivo, through an induction of the free toxic iron form, even though the total iron pool is not greatly expanded. The additional free-iron and porphyrin oxidant effects are documented both in red blood cell and plasma in the porphyria cutanea tarda group. It confirmed that aging exerts a negative influence in terms of pro- and antioxidant balance in all cases, but particularly in the haemochromatosis group.
Search on Google
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
/
Hemochromatosis
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Ital J Gastroenterol Hepatol
Journal subject:
GASTROENTEROLOGIA
Year:
1999
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: