%0 Journal Article %T Involvement of Iron-Evoked Oxidative Stress in Smoking-Related Endothelial Dysfunction in Healthy Young Men %A Kei Fukami %A Sho-ichi Yamagishi %A Shuji Iida %A Hidehiro Matsuoka %A Seiya Okuda %J PLOS ONE %D 2014 %I Public Library of Science (PLoS) %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0089433 %X Background Oxidative stress and smoking contribute to endothelial dysfunction. Iron might also play a role in oxidative stress generation and endothelial dysfunction. However, the involvement of iron in smoking-induced endothelial dysfunction in healthy smokers remains unclear. Therefore, we examined here whether (1) intravenous iron infusion impaired endothelial function evaluated by flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) in non-smokers, and (2) deferoxamine, a potent iron chelator, ameliorated endothelial dysfunction in healthy smokers. Methods Eight healthy young male non-smokers (23¡À4 years old) received intravenous injection of saccharated ferric oxide (0.7 mg/kg body weight), while 10 age-matched healthy male smokers received deferoxamine mesylate (8.3 mg/kg body weight). At baseline, 5 and 20 minutes after treatment with iron or deferoxamine, biochemical variables were measured, including serum iron and marondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid oxidation, and endothelial function was simultaneously evaluated by FMD. Results Compared with non-smokers, FMD was significantly lower in smokers. Iron and MDA levels were significantly increased, whereas FMD was impaired by iron infusion in non-smokers. Conversely, deferoxamine treatment significantly decreased iron and MDA levels and restored the decreased FMD in smokers. Baseline serum iron and MDA levels in all 18 subjects (non-smokers and smokers) were correlated with each other. There was a significant inverse correlation between the changes in MDA values and FMD from baseline in 18 men. Endothelium-independent vasodilation by glyceryl trinitrate was unaltered by either treatment. Conclusions Our present study suggests that iron-evoked oxidative stress might play a role in endothelial dysfunction in healthy smokers. %U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0089433