Effects of alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, and choline deficiency on iron metabolism in the rat.

The effects of alcohol on hepatic iron uptake and intestinal iron transport were studied in rats fed a nutritionally replete liquid diet containing varying quantities of ethanol. Results were compared with those from animals exposed to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) to produce hepatocellular necrosis or a choline-deficient diet to produce steatosis and cirrhosis. A high ethanol intake for 4 or 10 weeks produced hepatic steatosis. CCl4 produced hepatocellular necrosis. Choline deficiency was associated with steatosis +/- cirrhosis. Intestinal iron transport was unaffected by ethanol, CCl4, or choline deficiency. Hepatic iron uptake was significantly depressed in rats consuming 11.7 g/kg/day ethanol (p < 0.01) for 4 weeks. Choline-deficient animals studied at 14 weeks also had significantly decreased hepatic iron uptake (p < 0.01); results were similar in the cirrhotic and noncirrhotic animals. Conversely, CCl4 exposure produced a significant 5-fold increase in hepatic iron uptake (p < 0.001). Results suggest that ethanol consumption, fatty liver, and cirrhosis are not responsible for any increase in iron absorption or of hepatic iron uptake in the rat model. Acute hepatocellular injury is followed by increased hepatic iron uptake.