HFE gene mutation and transferrin saturation in very low birthweight infants

Aim - To determine if there is an association between high transferrin saturation and the C282Y HFE gene mutation in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants. Methods - One hundred and forty three VLBW infants receiving recombinant erythropoietin and 3 to 9 mg/kg/day of enteral iron were studied. Genomic DNA was extracted from filter paper cards. The C282Y mutation was determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results - Six infants were heterozygous for the mutation; none was homozygous. Ten infants had a transferrin saturation above 80% at least once. No infant was positive for both transferrin saturation above 80% and the mutation. Conclusions - The data strongly suggest that there is no association between high transferrin saturation and the HFE gene mutation in VLBW infants during the first weeks of life.