Iron Flashcards
Gut Involvement in Iron Metabolism
Decrease stomach pH solubilizes Fe-containing compounds
Transport molecules facilitate absorption into blood
Blood Involvement of Iron Metabolism
Fe3+ bound to Transferrin and transported to tissues
- Maintains solubility
- Keeps Fe unreactive
Cells Involvement with Iron Metabolism
Transferrin endocytosis is receptor mediated
Results in Fe3+ release
Fe distributed in cells
Usage of Iron in Cells
Protein components (Heme)
Storage of Iron in Cells
Ferritin (Fe2+)
Excess Iron in cells
Causes toxicity
Normal Iron Ranges
55-160 ug/dL (Male)
40-155 ug/dL (Female)
Total Iron Binding Capacity
Sites on transferrin saturated with iron
Reference range: 255-450 ug/dL
Percent transferrin saturation
20-50%
Increased Total Iron Binding Capacity
Situations that cause increase in transferrin
- Late pregnancy
- Iron deficiency anemia (compensation)
- Acute hemorrhage
- Acute destruction of liver cells
Decreased Serum Iron
Dietary deficiency or malabsorption
Loss of iron (blood loss or late pregnancy)
Impaired release of stored iron
Decreased Total Iron Binding Capacity
Decreased synthesis of Transferrin
Increased loss of protein as in renal disease
Total Serum Iron Principle of Assay
Dissociate ferric iron from transferrin and reduce to ferrous form
Iron + Color Reagent = Color Change
TIBC Principle of Assay
Saturate transferrin with ferric iron
Remove excess free iron from reaction tube
Dissociate ferric iron from transferrin and reduce to ferrous form
Measure iron as in total serum iron procedure
Calculation for % Saturation
(Serum Iron/TIBC) x 100