The role of diferric transferrin in iron absorption and transferrin concentration in rat pancreatic juice and milk.

Transferrin (Tf) was found immunologically in pancreatic juice of normal rats at a concentration of 0.28 +/- 0.10 mg/ml but was found to be approximately 4-times higher in iron-deficient rats. Iron saturation of pancreatic Tf of normal rats was 40% and similar to that of serum Tf. Approximately 27% of a dose of iron from 59Fe-diferric Tf was absorbed through the ligated segments of proximal intestine in normal rats. The iron absorption ratio of 59Fe-diferric Tf was higher from the duodenal and jejunal segments than the ileum and significantly inhibited by monodansylcadaverine (MDC) or 20-times excess of unlabeled diferric Tf. The presence of Tf receptors was demonstrated by specific binding of 125I-diferric Tf to the brush border membrane vesicles of the small intestine in normal rats. The binding was not inhibited by the presence of albumin or IgG. The association constant (Ka) was 1.03 +/- 0.50 x 10(8) M-1 and number of binding sites was 5.10 +/- 0.96 x 10(12) sites/mg protein in the proximal intestine. The number of binding sites for Tf was higher in the proximal intestine than in the distal one. These results suggested that some iron was absorbed as diferric Tf into enterocytes through receptor-mediated endocytosis.