Effects of iron and desferrioxamine on infections with Yersinia enterocolitica

Abstract

The effects of iron-dextran and the iron chelator desferrioxamine B mesylate (Desferal) on the course and outcome of experimental yersiniosis were investigated. Yersinia enterocolitica strains representing the three leading serogroups pathogenic for humans, O3, O8 and O9, were studied. In mice, iron-dextran reduced the median lethal dose of intraperitoneally administered Y. enterocolitica O3 and O9 ca. 10-fold, whereas Desferal reduced this value more than 100,000-fold. Experiments in which Y. enterocolitica was given orally to mice and intraconjunctivally to guinea pigs confirmed that Desferal markedly increased the susceptibility of animals to yersiniosis. Although serogroup O8 yersiniae w..