Acute Iron Dextran Injection Increases Liver Weight and Reduces Glycerol Kinase Expression in Liver

Iron is essential and needed in a very small amount. When iron exceeds normal need, metabolic alteration occurs, causing hepatosteatosis. The mechanism of iron inducing hepatosteatosis remains unclear. Glycerol kinase, the enzyme responsible in triglyceride synthesis initiation, is assumed to have a role in the pathomechanism of hepatosteatosis. This study aimed to investigate the gene expression of glycerol kinase in an acute iron overload condition. This study was conducted in Animal Laboratory Faculty of Medicine and Central Laboratory Universitas Padjadjaran from May to June 2017. Three groups of mice were divided by the dose of iron dextran injection (0, 0.1, 0.3 mg/day/mice). After 19 days, mice were terminated, liver weight was measured and glycerol kinase gene expression in the liver was determined by semi-qualitative PCR. Quantification of PCR result was calculated by ImageJ software. There was a significant change in liver weight of the mice in a dose-dependent manner of iron injection. The expression of glycerol kinase tended to decrease, but statistically insignificant. Acute iron dextran injection increases liver weight and tends to reduce glycerol kinase gene expression in mice liver