H-ferritin secretion by primary peritoneal macrophages after iron compound treatment for 24 hours:

Rat peritoneal macrophages were obtained by peritoneal lavage. The cells were exposed to 0.1 mg/ml of elemental iron for each of the iron formulations for 24 hours. The media was then replaced for 24 hours and then an aliquot taken for H-ferritin analysis. A representative immunoblot (21 kDa band) is shown and the data for 3 experiments are presented in the graphs. The data show that exposure to ferric carboxymaltose, iron dextran, iron isomaltoside and ferumoxytol is associated with an increase in ferritin release by the macrophages compared to control (untreated) but there is no increase following iron sucrose or sodium ferric gluconate exposure (p<0.05). The expression levels were normalized to β-actin.