The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the iron chloride on mouse fibroblasts. The experiments were performed on the BALB/c 3T3 (mouse BALB/c embryo fibroblasts) cell line. The cell viability was measured by three tests: the MTT reduction, LDH release and Neutral Red uptake. The type of cell death was determined by photometric enzyme immunoassay. Moreover, the IL-1α and IL-6 concentration was determined by the sandwich-linked immunosorbent assay.
The present study showed that iron chloride decreases cells viability (confirmed by three cell viability tests) after 24 hours of incubation. The suggested mechanism of iron action in mouse embryo fibroblasts can be related to the iron interaction with cell membrane, subsequntly with mitochondria and, finally with lysosomes. Moreover, iron decreases concentration of mono- and oligonucleosomes in the cytoplasm and IL-6 concentration secreted into the cell culture supernatant. However, the concentration of IL-1α increases after incubation with iron chloride.