Increased urinary excretion of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α in patients with HFE-related hemochromatosis: A case-control study

The hypothesis according to which iron overload could be harmful has been extensively and controversially discussed in the literature. One underlying pathological mechanism may be elevated oxidative stress. Thus, we studied the correlation between hemochromatosis and an established marker of oxidative stress, 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α, iPF2α-III, 15-F2t-IsoP). We enrolled 21 patients with hemochromatosis, positive for the homozygous C282Y mutation in the HFE gene, and 21 healthy controls frequency-matched by age and gender in a case-control study design. The objective was to show that iron overload in HFE-related hemochromatosis is associated with increased oxidative stress assessed through 8-iso-PGF2α urinary excretion, and that oxidative stress is impacted by iron-removal treatment (phlebotomy). Study parameters were transferrin saturation, 8-iso-PGF2α urine excretion, transferrin, ferritin, serum iron, and vitamins A and E for all participants. Iron concentration in the liver and non-transferrin-bound iron were measured in patients only. We found a significant difference in 8-iso-PGF2α in patients (245 [interquartile range 157–348] pg/mg creatinine) compared with controls (128 [106–191] pg/mg creatinine, P = 0.002). Vitamin A was significantly reduced in cases (0.34 [0.25–1.83] μg/ml compared to 3.00 [2.11–3.39] μg/ml, P < 0.001), while vitamin E did not show a significant difference in cases (14.7 [11.5–18.1] μg/ml) compared with controls (14.9 [13.1–19.2] μg/ml, P = 0.52). After phlebotomy treatment and normalization of the iron parameters in the hemochromatosis group, serum vitamin A levels were significantly increased (1.36 [1.08–1.97] μg/ml, P = 0.035 vs. baseline, P < 0.001 vs. controls) and 8-iso-PGF2α urinary excretion was lowered to control levels (146 [117–198] pg/mg creatinine, P = 0.38 vs. controls). In our study, HFE-related hemochromatosis was associated with increased oxidative stress and hypovitaminemia A in C282Y homozygotes. The increased oxidative stress was reversible by normalization of the iron load by phlebotomy. Thus, phlebotomy is an effective and adequate means for reducing oxidative stress in these patients.