Iron storage in ferritin following intracellular hemoglobin denaturation in erythroleukemic cells

Murine erythroleukemia (MEL) and human K-562 cell lines were cultured in the presence of 57Fe, and the quantities of cellular iron-containing compounds were determined with the aid of Mossbauer spectroscopy. Upon induction of differentiation, both ferritin-iron and hemoglobin (Hb) iron could be detected. Treatment of the cells with 0.01%-0.02% acetylphenylhydrazine (APH) resulted in gradual denaturation of Hb and incorporation of the released Hb-iron into ferritin. Following treatment with APH, the ratio of Hb-57Fe to ferritin-57Fe decreased from 2.6 to 0.2 in MEL cells and from 0.56 to 0.12 in K-562 cells. No change was observed in the total intracellular iron. Using fluorescence ELISA, an increased level of immunologically detectable ferritin was found in hemoglobinized K-562 cells treated with APH, as compared to the amount of ferritin found in untreated cells. Ferritin may thus function not only as an intermediate during Hb synthesis, but also as storage protein for iron released during Hb denaturation.