Defect in Resistance to Salmonella typhimurium in Iron-Deficient Rats

Iron-deficiency anemia is a well-known result of inadequate iron in the diet, but the consequences of such a dietary regime are vague and ill defined. Rats were fed diets containing either five or 35 parts per million of iron and were infected orally with Salmonella typhimurium. The amount of antimicrobial enzyme con-taining iron, the amount of myeloperoxidase, the number of myeloperoxidase-containing cells, and the number of S. typhimurium organisms in the gut were measured in animals sacrificed up to 30 days after challenge. Iron-deficient rats were unable to produce and deliver cells containing myeloperoxidase to the gut in sufficient quantity quickly enough to withstand the stress of enteric infection. A nutritional iron deficiency appears to be preva-lent in at least 20 % of women of childbearing age [1] and in preschool children [2]. Lack of iron has been associated with an increased sus-ceptibility to Escherichia coli endotoxin in swine [3] and with a decreased antibody response t