Origin of renal proximal tubular injuries by Fe(III)-nta chelate.

Interaction between apo-transferrin and several iron(III) chelates has been investigated in terms of the capillary electrophoresis method. Based on the results, it has been clarified that (i) a binuclear iron(III) unit with an oxo-bridge is necessary for the facile transfer of an iron atom from the iron(III) chelate to apo-transferrin, and (ii) the renal proximal tubular injuries by Fe(III)-nitrilotriacetate (Fe-nta) should be due to the unique binuclear structure of this complex, which gives a peroxide adduct of the binuclear Fe-nta in the presence of glutathione cycle and oxygen.