Patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis have elevated markers of oxidative stress, but the reasons for this are not fully understood. Intravenous administration of iron, which many of these patients receive, may provoke the generation of bioactive iron, which enhances oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. In this study, 110 hemodialysis patients were randomly assigned to five groups that were administered single intravenous doses of iron sucrose, ranging from 20 to 500 mg. A time-and dosage-dependent rise in lymphocyte 8-hydroxy-2Ј-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in lymphocyte DNA, a marker of oxidative DNA damage, with a significant increase at 2 h after intravenous iron of Ն200 mg (P Ͻ 0.05). Four weeks later, patients were randomly assigned to weekly iron sucrose (100 mg of elemental iron) or saline for 12 wk, and 89 patients completed the study. Mean lymphocyte 8-OHdG content was significantly higher in patients receiving intravenous iron compared with control subjects (P Ͻ 0.05), especially in those with ferritin levels Ͼ500 g/L. In addition, flow cytometric techniques revealed increased production of reactive oxygen species in lymphocytes among those treated with intravenous iron. Treatment with intravenous iron but not saline was also associated with decreased plasma ascorbate and ␣-tocopherol levels and increased oxidized glutathione/reduced glutathione ratio (P Ͻ 0.05). In summary, intravenous iron sucrose provokes oxidative damage to peripheral blood lymphocyte DNA in hemodialysis patients, especially among those with high levels of ferritin. 19: 181719: -182619: , 200819: . doi: 10.1681 Cumulative evidence indicates that oxidative stress frequently occurs in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) as a result of a decrease of antioxidant defenses and an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and hypochlorous acid. 1-4 Direct measurement of ROS is difficult because of its lower plasma levels and shorter half-life; however, measurement of oxidative byproducts combined with the assessment of antioxidant levels become more feasible. Oxidative damage to cellular constituents, such as membrane lipids, protein, and DNA, are fingerprints of oxidative byproducts. Recently, investigators disclosed that 8-hydroxy 2Ј-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is one of the most abundant oxidative DNA products and a sensitive DNA damage marker because it can be detected by a HPLC electrochemical detection method in the femtomole range. 5,6 Our previous
J Am Soc Nephrol