IRON REGULATES MICROGLIAL CELL-MEDIATED SECRETORY AND EFFECTOR FUNCTIONS

Iron homeostasis and macrophage physiology are tightly intertwined. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of iron loading on the constitutive and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced functional and secretory properties of microglial cells, using the in vitro established murine cell line BV-2. We demonstrate that iron augments the basal and IFN-gamma plus LPS-enhanced anti-Cand ida albicans activity exerted by BV-2 cells and that the phenomenon oc curs with no enhancement of phagocytic activity. Furthermore, when the secretory properties of IFN-gamma plus LPS-treated BV-2 cells were as sessed, we found that tumor necrosis factor remains unchanged while ni tric oxide production is significantly reduced in iron-loaded cells. T he addition of the iron chelator deferiprone (L1) reverts the effects of iron on BV-2 functional and secretory properties, These data sugges t that iron differently affects secretory and effector functions of BV -2 microglial cells, thus implying that iron interferes with murine mi croglial cell physiology. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.