Intestinal absorption of cobalt and iron: mode of interaction and subcellular distribution.

1. The absorption kinetic of 59Fe-(FeCl3) and 60CO-(CoCl2) 10 min after administration of increasing doses (0.5--1,000 nmoles metal) into tied-off duodenal segments of normal and iron-deficient rats shows saturation characteristic for both metals; in iron-deficient rats the absorption of both metals was enhanced. 2. The addition of increasing amounts of cobalt to the 59Fe-containing test solutions caused a decrease of the absorption of iron. 3. The study of the time dependence of this interaction in iron-deficient rats revealed, that cobalt inhibits the release of iron from mucosal cells into the blood, whereas the uptake of iron from the lumen into the mucosal cells did not differ from the controls without administration of cobalt. 4. The subcellular distribution of 59Fe and 60 Co in mucosal cell homogenates of iron-deficient rats after ultracentrifugation on a polyvinylpyrrolidone-CsCl solution shows a similar pattern for both metals; in the presence of cobalt the subcellular distribution of 59Fe is not changed. 5. From these results the conclusion is drawn that cobalt inhibits iron absorption not by an interference with iron binding sites on or in the luminal membranes of the mucosal cells but by an interaction with the releasing process at the contraluminal side.