Complete loss of iron regulatory proteins 1 and 2 prevents viability of murine zygotes beyond the blastocyst stage of embryonic development.

Iron regulatory proteins 1 and 2 (IRPs) are homologous mammalian cytosolic proteins that sense intracellular iron levels and post-transcriptionally regulate expression of ferritin, transferrin receptor, and other iron metabolism proteins. Adult mice with homozygous targeted deletion of IRP2 develop microcytic anemia, elevated red cell protoporphyrin IX levels, high serum ferritin, and adult-onset neurodegeneration. Mice with homozygous deletion of IRP1 develop no overt abnormalities, but mice that lack both copies of IRP2 and one copy of IRP1 develop a more severe anemia and neurodegeneration than mice with deletion of IRP2 alone. Here, we have demonstrated that IRP1-/- IRP2-/- embryos do not survive gestation, and that although IRP1-/- IRP2-/blastocysts can be genotyped and harvested, implanted embryos with the IRP1-/- IRP2-/genotype are undetectable at embryonic day 6.5 and beyond. Blastocysts derived from a cross in which 25% of the fertilized embryos were expected to have the IRP1-/- IRP2-/genotype often showed brown discoloration and abnormal morphology. These abnormal blastocysts likely have the IRP1-/- IRP2-/- genotype, and the brown discoloration may be attributable to ferritin overexpression and sequestration of ferric iron in ferritin, whereas abnormal morphology may be due to concomitant functional iron deficiency. These results demonstrate that IRPs are indispensable for regulation of mammalian iron homeostasis at the post-implantation stage of murine embryonic development.

Electron tomography of degenerating neurons in mice with abnormal regulation of iron metabolism.

Previous studies have shown that IRP1(+/-) IRP2(-/-) knockout mice develop progressive neurodegenerative symptoms similar to those observed in human movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Histological investigations using optical microscopy show that these IRP knockout mice display accumulation of ferritin in axonal tracts in the brain, suggesting a possible role for excess ferritin in mediating axonal degeneration. Direct observation of the 3D distribution of ferritin by electron tomography indicates that ferritin amounts are increased by 3- to 4-fold in selected regions of the brain, and structural damage is observed within the axon as evidenced by the loss of the internal network of filaments, and the invaginations of neighboring oligodendrocyte membranes into the axonal medium. While optical microscopic investigations suggest that there is a large increase in ferritin in the presumptive axonal regions of the IRP knockout mice, electron tomographic studies reveal that most of the excess ferritin is localized to double-walled vesicular compartments which are present in the interior of the axon and appear to represent invaginations of the oligodendrocyte cells into the axon. The amount of ferritin observed in the axonal space of the knockout mice is at least 10-fold less than the amount of ferritin observed in wild-type mouse axons. The surprising conclusion from our analysis, therefore, is that despite the overall increase in ferritin levels in the knockout mouse brain, ferritin is absent from axons of degenerating neurons, suggesting that trafficking is compromised in early stages of this type of neuronal degeneration.

Severity of neurodegeneration correlates with compromise of iron metabolism in mice with iron regulatory protein deficiencies.

In mammals, iron regulatory proteins 1 and 2 (IRP1 and IRP2) posttranscriptionally regulate expression of several iron metabolism proteins including ferritin and transferrin receptor. Genetically engineered mice that lack IRP2, but have the normal complement of IRP1, develop adult-onset neurodegenerative disease associated with inappropriately high expression of ferritin in degenerating neurons. Here, we report that mice that are homozygous for a targeted deletion of IRP2 and heterozygous for a targeted deletion of IRP1 (IRP1+/- IRP2-/-) develop a much more severe form of neurodegeneration, characterized by widespread axonopathy and eventually by subtle vacuolization in several areas, particularly in the substantia nigra. Axonopathy develops in white matter tracts in which marked increases in ferric iron and ferritin expression are detected. Axonal degeneration is significant and widespread before evidence for abnormalities or loss of neuronal cell bodies can be detected. Ultimately, neuronal cell bodies degenerate in the substantia nigra and some other vulnerable areas, microglia are activated, and vacuoles appear. Mice manifest gait and motor impairment at stages when axonopathy is pronounced, but neuronal cell body loss is minimal. These observations suggest that therapeutic strategies that aim to revitalize neurons by treatment with neurotrophic factors may be of value in IRP2-/- and IRP1+/- IRP2-/- mouse models of neurodegeneration.