FIGURE 3.

Relative spleen weights (A), example images of spleen histology (B), and renal Epo mRNA expression (C) in 2-mo-old mice of both genotypes and sexes fed diets with AdFe and either AdCu or HCu for 4 wk (study 2). Relative proportions of red and white pulp in the spleen were calculated by mean periarterial lymphatic sheath area/total area (B) (n = 3 mice/group). The significant 2-way interaction shown (panel B) refers to the relative proportions of white compared with red pulp. Results are depicted as box plots for n = 12–16 (A) or n = 5–8 (C) mice/group. Genotype main effects: P < 0.0001 (panels A and C). AdCu, adequate copper; AdFe, adequate iron; BW, body weight; Dmt1, divalent metal-ion transporter 1; Dmt1^fl/fl mice, phenotypically normal mice with the Slc11a2 gene “floxed”; Dmt1^int/int mice, intestine-specific Dmt1 knockout mice; Epo, erythropoietin; HCu, high copper.