Figure 4.
Effects of Dex administration on iron content and iron metabolism genes expression of the liver in rats. (A) Hepatic iron detection using the Prussian Blue staining. More iron (blue) was revealed in the rat of the control group. Nuclei are stained with fast red, and cytoplasm are stained pale pink; (B) Dex administration reduces hepatic iron content; (C) Effect of long-term Dex exposure on hepatic iron-metabolism genes expression; (D) Western blot bands of hepatic iron-metabolism genes; (E) Hepatic protein expression of iron metabolism-related genes; (F) Dex administration decreases liver hepcidin level. Definitions: TF, transferrin; TFR1, transferrin receptor 1; TFR2, transferrin receptor 2; ZIP14, ZRT/IRT-like protein 14. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM, n = 6, different from control, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 and # p = 0.08.