Circulating Iron-Containing Macrophages in Hemochromatosis

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Abstract
Iron-containing macrophages, present in various tissues in patients with iron-storage diseases, have been demonstrated to pass from the intestinal villus into the intestinal lumen, acting to transport iron as well as to store it. It was proposed that these cells may transport iron from one organ to another and thus might be present in the circulating blood. Therefore, they were sought in buffy-coat preparations of venous blood in normal subjects and in patients with hemochromatosis and other iron-storage conditions such as transfusion siderosis. Circulating hemosiderin-containing cells were demonstrated in eight of the nine untreated patients with hemochromatosis and in four of 20 with other iron-storage disorders. None were found in normal subjects. The discovery of such cells in the circulating blood suggests an iron-storage disease although their absence does not exclude such a possibility. The macrophages in hemochromatosis appear different from those in transfusion siderosis, containing smaller granules of iron.