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The Journal of Experimental Biology 204, 3779-3787 (2001)
© 2001 The Company of Biologists Limited

Intestinal iron uptake in the European flounder (Platichthys flesus)

N. R. Bury^1,*, M. Grosell², C. M. Wood², C. Hogstrand¹, R. W. Wilson³, J. C. Rankin⁴, M. Busk⁴, T. Lecklin⁴ and F. B. Jensen⁴

¹ Division of Health and Life Sciences, King’s College London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NN, UK,
² Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4K1,
³ School of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4PS, UK and
⁴ Institute of Biology, SDU, Odense University, Campusvej 55, Odense, Denmark

*e-mail: nic.bury{at}kcl.ac.uk

Accepted July 31, 2001

Iron is an essential element because it is a key constituent of the metalloproteins involved in cellular respiration and oxygen transport. There is no known regulated excretory mechanism for iron, and homeostasis is tightly controlled via its uptake from the diet. This study assessed in vivo intestinal iron uptake and in vitro iron absorption in a marine teleost, the European flounder Platichthys flesus. Ferric iron, in the form ⁵⁹FeCl₃, was reduced to Fe²⁺ by ascorbate, and the bioavailability of Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ were compared. In vivo Fe²⁺ uptake was significantly greater than Fe³⁺ uptake and was reduced by the iron chelator desferrioxamine. Fe²⁺ was also more bioavailable than Fe³⁺ in in vitro studies that assessed the temporal pattern and concentration-dependency of iron absorption. The posterior region, when compared with the anterior and mid regions of the intestine, was the preferential site for Fe²⁺ uptake in vivo. In vitro iron absorption was upregulated in the posterior intestine in response to prior haemoglobin depletion of the fish, and the transport showed a Q₁₀ value of 1.94. Iron absorption in the other segments of the intestine did not correlate with haematocrit, and Q₁₀ values were lower. Manipulation of the luminal pH had no effect on in vitro iron absorption. The present study demonstrates that a marine teleost absorbs Fe²⁺ preferentially in the posterior intestine. This occurs in spite of extremely high luminal bicarbonate concentrations recorded in vivo, which may be expected to reduce the bioavailability of divalent cations as a result of the precipitation as carbonates (e.g. FeCO₃).

Key words: iron, European flounder, Platichthys flesus, bioavailability, intestine.

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