Sucrosomial Iron Absorption Involve M Cells Interaction

Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) represents a major public health problem. Oral administration has been recognized as the most convenient and safest route for iron treatment. However, most of the traditional iron supplements encounter several obstacles when orally administrated due to their poor solubility and bioavailability. The absorption of commonly used ferrous iron salts is low as the soluble form ferrous iron is easily oxidized to a poorly soluble one ferric iron and also because the absorption of ferrous iron is mediated by the divalent metal transporter 1. In order to overcome gastrointestinal barriers, there is a need for new absorption and protective enhancers acting as carriers and able to promote iron absorption. Microfold cells (M cells) of the Peyer's patches (PP) are found in the gut and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. These cells are known for the transport of microbes and particles across the epithelial cell layer from the gut lumen to the lamina propria where interactions with immune cells take place. Previous studies demonstrate that M cells are a common pathway for oral nanoparticles absorption. However physicochemical properties of particles critically influence the efficacy of oral delivery to the lymphatic system. Recently, we have developed a new oral Iron formulation named Sucrosomial® Iron. This oral formulation is an innovative preparation of ferric pyrophosphate, covered by a phospholipids plus sucrester matrix, with high bioavailability, tolerability and gastro-resistance properties that shows an improvement in Hb levels similarly to intravenous iron and without any gastrointestinal side effects; thus, Sucrosomial®Iron can be used as an alternative to common iron salts to improve iron supplementation effectiveness.