Sex similarities and divergences in systemic and muscle iron metabolism adaptations to extreme physical inactivity in rats.

Background: Previous data in humans suggest that extreme physical inactivity (EPI) affects iron metabolism differently between sexes. Our objective was to deepen the underlying mechanisms by studying rats of both sexes exposed to hindlimb unloading (HU), the reference experimental model mimicking EPI.

Methods: Eight-week-old male and female Wistar rats were assigned to control (CTL) or hindlimb unloading (HU) conditions (n = 12/group).