Canine Liver Iron, Copper, and Zinc Concentrations and Association with Histologic Lesions

Concentrations of iron, copper, and zinc were measured in livers of 95 dogs that were suspected of having liver disease. Iron concentrations ranged from 177 to 7,680 ppm (dry weight basis); 54 dogs had iron concentrations greater than the normal concentration of 1,200 ppm. Iron stores were present in Kupffer cells and macrophages but not hepatocytes. The dogs did not have lesions of hemochromatosis. Dogs with high liver iron tended to have high liver copper and inflammatory lesions. High liver copper concentrations usually were associated with hepatocellular necrosis and fibrosis. High liver zinc was found in only 5 animals and was accompanied by histologic inflammatory lesions in one. In humans, increased iron concentration in the liver exacerbates liver damage caused by a variety of insults, and the same may be true for dogs.

[1]  J. Searle,et al.  Hepatic iron deposition in human disease and animal models , 1996, Biometals.

[2]  L. Powell,et al.  Diagnosis of hemochromatosis. , 2002, Seminars in gastrointestinal disease.

[3]  A. Walker,et al.  Hepatic Failure and Hemochromatosis of Salers and Salers-cross Cattle , 2001, Veterinary pathology.

[4]  L. Thornburg.  A Perspective on Copper and Liver Disease in the Dog , 2000, Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc.

[5]  M. Ziol,et al.  Liver iron is predictive of death in alcoholic cirrhosis: a multivariate study of 229 consecutive patients with alcoholic and/or hepatitis C virus cirrhosis: a prospective follow up study , 2000, Gut.

[6]  R. Corrocher,et al.  Role of iron load on fibrogenesis in chronic hepatitis C. , 2000, Hepato-gastroenterology.

[7]  B. Bacon,et al.  Effects of iron loading on pathogenicity in hepatitis C virus–infected chimpanzees , 1999, Hepatology.

[8]  G. Mancia,et al.  Hepatic iron overload in patients with chronic viral hepatitis: Role of HFE gene mutations , 1998, Hepatology.

[9]  A. Piperno.  Classification and diagnosis of iron overload. , 1998, Haematologica.

[10]  B. Horney,et al.  Chronic hepatitis: a retrospective study in 34 dogs. , 1997, The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne.

[11]  R. Britton.  Metal-Induced Hepatotoxicity , 1996, Seminars in liver disease.

[12]  P. Stål.  Iron as a hepatotoxin. , 1995, Digestive diseases.

[13]  R. Poppenga,et al.  Hepatic cirrhosis and hemochromatosis in three horses. , 1994, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[14]  J. Harvey,et al.  Hematologic changes associated with serum and hepatic iron alterations in dogs with congenital portosystemic vascular anomalies. , 1994, Journal of veterinary internal medicine.

[15]  B. Bacon,et al.  Pathophysiology of iron toxicity. , 1994, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[16]  Robinette Cl.  Toxicology of selected pesticides, drugs, and chemicals. Zinc. , 1990 .

[17]  B. Bacon,et al.  The pathology of hepatic iron overload: A free radical‐Mediated Process? , 1990, Hepatology.

[18]  C. Robinette.  Toxicology of selected pesticides, drugs, and chemicals. Zinc. , 1990, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice.

[19]  V. Beasley.  Toxicology of selected pesticides, drugs, and chemicals. , 1990, The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice.

[20]  B. Bacon,et al.  Hereditary hemochromatosis: pathogenesis and clinical features of a common disease. , 1989, The American journal of gastroenterology.

[21]  K. Latimer,et al.  Zinc-induced hemolytic anemia caused by ingestion of pennies by a pup. , 1989, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[22]  C. M. Brown,et al.  Iron toxicity in neonatal foals. , 1988, Equine veterinary journal.

[23]  P. Mann,et al.  Toxic Hepatopathy in Neonatal Foals , 1984, Veterinary pathology.

[24]  Sidney A. Williams,et al.  Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists , 1971, Soil Science Society of America Journal.