Role of iron in jejunal uptake of cadmium in the newborn rat.

There is evidence that suckling animals and children have a greater capacity for intestinal transport of both essential and nonessential metals than do adults of the species. It has also been observed in experiments using adult animals that the intestinal transport of iron and the nonessential metal cadmium interact with one another. In the study reported here, the influence of tissue iron status on jejunal uptake of cadmium was investigated in suckling, adolescent, and young adult rats using an in situ incubation technique. In the presence of 0.4 mM FeSO4, intestinal uptake of cadmium was significantly decreased in 14-d-old pups. Access to an iron-deficient diet reduced tissue iron levels in 28- and 42-d-old but not in 14-d-old rats. Intestinal uptake of cadmium was significantly greater in 28- and 42-d-old rats placed on the iron-deficient diet but did not change in 14-d-old rats compared to controls. In suckling rats injected with iron dextran over a six-d period, a significant decrease in intestinal uptake of both cadmium and iron was observed compared to controls. The results of the present study suggest that intestinal cadmium transport in the suckling, as well as the adolescent and young adult rat, interacts with, at least in part, the pathway responsible for iron transport.