Lino Rossi Research Center for The Study and Prevention of Unexpected Perinatal Death and SIDS, Department of Surgical, Reconstructive and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Milan, Italy.
BMC Pediatr. 2011 Jul 6;11:62. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-11-62.
Iron is involved in important vital functions as an essential component of the oxygen-transporting heme mechanism. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether oxidative metabolites from maternal cigarette smoke could affect iron homeostasis in the brain of victims of sudden unexplained fetal and infant death, maybe through the induction of maternal hemoglobin damage, such as in case of methemoglobinemia.
Histochemical investigations by Prussian blue reaction were made on brain nonheme ferric iron deposits, gaining detailed data on their localization in the brainstem and cerebellum of victims of sudden death and controls. The Gless and Marsland's modification of Bielschowsky's was used to identify neuronal cell bodies and neurofilaments.
Our approach highlighted accumulations of blue granulations, indicative of iron positive reactions, in the brainstem and cerebellum of 33% of victims of sudden death and in none of the control group. The modified Bielschowsky's method confirmed that the cells with iron accumulations were neuronal cells.
We propose that the free iron deposition in the brain of sudden fetal and infant death victims could be a catabolic product of maternal methemoglobinemia, a biomarker of oxidative stress likely due to nicotine absorption.
铁作为氧气转运血红素机制的重要组成部分，参与了许多重要的生命功能。在这项研究中，我们旨在评估母体香烟烟雾中的氧化代谢产物是否会通过诱导母体血红蛋白损伤（如高铁血红蛋白血症），从而影响突发性不明原因胎儿和婴儿死亡受害者的大脑中的铁稳态。
通过普鲁士蓝反应对大脑中非血红素铁的沉积进行组织化学研究，详细了解其在脑干和小脑中的定位情况，研究对象为突发性死亡的受害者和对照组。我们采用了 Gless 和 Marsland 对 Bielschowsky 方法的改进版，用于识别神经元细胞体和神经丝。
我们的方法强调了在突发性死亡受害者的脑干和小脑中有 33%的区域出现蓝色颗粒积聚，这表明存在铁阳性反应，但在对照组中则没有这种情况。改良的 Bielschowsky 方法证实了铁积累的细胞是神经元细胞。
我们提出，突发性胎儿和婴儿死亡受害者大脑中的游离铁沉积可能是母体高铁血红蛋白血症的代谢产物，也是由于尼古丁吸收导致的氧化应激的生物标志物。
