Studies on pathogenesis in iron deficiency anemia Part 2. Anemia induced by administration of puromycin aminonucleoside

Iron deficiency anemia results from various factors, such as blood loss, malabsorption, and increased demand for iron due to pregnancy or growth. However, iron hyper-excretion has not been reported except in the cases of bleeding. Previously, we found increased iron excretion in the urine in patients with iron-losing anemia, such as idiopathic hypochromic anemia. To examine the relationship between iron excretion and anemia, puromycin aminonucleoside (PA) was administered in rats to induce anemia. In such rats, considerable amounts of iron were continuously excreted in the urine and the animals became anemic. However, the anemia in this model was normocytic and normochromic, and the liver iron content was reversely increased. In conclusion, PA administration in rats induces not only iron deficiency as hyper-excretion but also abnormalities of iron metabolism as indicated by the other pathological findings, such as inflammatory change and renal failure