Role of iron in carrageenan-induced granuloma: action of desferrioxamine and indometacin.

Iron has been implicated in the inflammatory process. In this paper we studied the modulating inflammatory activity of iron in the carrageenan-induced granuloma pouch, taking indometacin as a standard anti-inflammatory drug. Sprague-Dawley rats were injected subcutaneously with desferrioxamine (100 mg/kg) and indometacin (5 mg/kg) for 3 consecutive days before granuloma induction, followed by a daily administration in the granuloma pouch until the day before death. We determined the granuloma weight and assayed in the exudate: volume, number of leukocytes, PGE2 levels and loosely bound iron content at 1 (acute inflammation) and 6 days (chronic inflammation) after granuloma induction. Our results show a dual effect of desferrioxamine, inflammatory in the acute phase and anti-inflammatory in the chronic phase. These results are discussed in relation to chemotaxis and to the potential role of iron on oxygen free radical production, collagen synthesis and hydroperoxide generation, while indometacin acts through the cyclooxygenase pathway.