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. 2010 Dec;85(12):958-60.
doi: 10.1002/ajh.21872.

Characterization of mitochondrial ferritin-deficient mice

Thomas B Bartnikas, Dean R Campagna, Brendan Antiochos, Howard Mulhern, Corinne Pondarré, Mark D Fleming

Characterization of mitochondrial ferritin-deficient mice

Thomas B Bartnikas et al. Am J Hematol. 2010 Dec.
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Construction and analysis of Ftmt-deficient mice
(A) Schematic of wild-type (+/+) and mutant (−/−) Ftmt locus. Arrows indicate site of primers used to genotype mice in (B). (B) Genotyping gel of mice wild-type (+/+), heterozygous (+/−) or homozygous (−/−) for the inactivated Ftmt allele. First lane from left is a DNA size ladder. (C) Gel of RT-PCR using wild-type and homozygous mouse testes RNA and primers specific to β-actin and Ftmt. Reactions with (RT) and without (no RT) a reverse transcriptase step were included to control for amplification of genomic DNA. (D) Analysis of serum iron (Fe), liver Fe, spleen Fe and liver hepcidin levels in wild-type and homozygous animals.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Analysis of Ftmt-deficient mice on a pyridoxine-deficient diet
Wild-type (black lines and circles) and homozygous (grey lines and circles) mice were placed on a pyridoxine-deficient diet at one month of age and followed for four months. Parameters measured were (A) hemoglobin level (HGB), (B) hematocrit, (C) mean corpuscular volume (MCV), (D) mean corpuscular hemoglobin level (MCH), (E) red cell distribution width (RDW), (F) reticulocyte count (retics), (G) reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHR) and (H) number of siderocytes per 500 red blood cells. Six to nine mice were analyzed per time point and genotype. Numbers indicate p values between wild-type and homozygous values at one time point; asterisks indicate value at that time point differs significantly (p<0.05) from initial value at 0 weeks. P values were determined by Student’s two-tailed t-test.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Microscopic evaluation of Ftmt-deficient erythrocytes
(A,B) Light micrographs of Prussian Blue-stained blood smears from wild-type (+/+) (A) and Ftmt-deficient (−/−) (B) mice; siderocytes are indicated by arrowheads; 40x magnification. (C,D) Electron micrographs of reticulocytes from wild-type (+/+) (C) and Ftmt-deficient mice (−/−) (D); mitochondria are indicated by arrows; 40,000x original magnification. The wild-type and mutant mitochondria are indistinguishable. (E) High-power electron micrograph of a siderocyte from a Ftmt-deficient mouse; 80,000x original magnification. Note the slight enhancement of the mitochondrial membranes and amorphous electron dense deposits detailed in (E), which are similar to previous descriptions of murine siderocytes by electron microscopy(20). All samples were obtained from mice on pyridoxine-deficient diets. All blood samples were stained with acid ferrocyanide prior to processing for electron microscopy.
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