Iron is essential for virtually all types of cells and organisms. The significance of the iron for brain function is reflected by the presence of receptors for transferrin on brain capillary endothelial cells. The transport of iron into the brain from the circulation is regulated so that the extraction of iron by brain capillary endothelial cells is low in iron-replete conditions and the reverse when the iron need of the brain is high as in conditions with iron deficiency and during development of the brain. Whereas there is good agreement that iron is taken up by means of receptor-mediated uptake of iron-transferrin at the brain barriers, there are contradictory views on how iron is transported further on from the brain barriers and into the brain extracellular space. The prevailing hypothesis for transport of iron across the BBB suggests a mechanism that involves detachment of iron from transferrin within barrier cells followed by recycling of apo-transferrin to blood plasma and release of iron as non-transferrin-bound iron into the brain interstitium from where the iron is taken up by neurons and glial cells. Another hypothesis claims that iron-transferrin is transported into the brain by means of transcytosis through the BBB. This thesis deals with the topic" brain iron homeostasis" defined as the attempts to maintain constant concentrations of iron in the brain internal environment via regulation of iron transport through brain barriers, cellular iron uptake by neurons and glia, and export of iron from brain to blood. The first part deals with transport of iron-transferrin complexes from blood to brain either by transport across the brain barriers or by uptake and retrograde axonal transport in motor neurons projecting beyond the blood-brain barrier. The transport of iron and transport into the brain was examined using radiolabeled iron-transferrin. Intravenous injection of [59Fe-125] transferrin led to an almost two-fold higher accumulation of 59Fe than of [125I] transferrin in the brain. Some of the 59Fe was detected in CSF in a fraction less than 30 kDa (III). It was estimated that the iron-binding capacity of transferrin in CSF was exceeded, suggesting that iron is transported into the brain in a quantity that exceeds that of transferrin. Accordingly, it was concluded that the paramount iron transport across the BBB is the result of receptor-mediated endocytosis of iron-containing transferrin by capillary endothelial cells, followed by recycling of transferrin to the blood and transport of non-transferrin-bound iron into the brain. It was found that retrograde axonal transport in a cranial motor nerve is age-dependent, varying from almost negligible in the neonatal brain to high in the adult brain. The principle sources of extracellular transferrin in the brain are hepatocytes, oligodendrocytes, and the choroid plexus. As the passage of liver-derived transferrin into the brain is restricted due to the BBB, other candidates for binding iron in the interstitium should be considered. In vitro studies have revealed secretion of transferrin from the choroid plexus and oligodendrocytes. The second part of the thesis encompasses the circulation of iron in the extracellular fluids of the brain, ie the brain interstitial fluid and the CSF. As the latter receives drainage from the interstitial fluid, the CSF of the ventricles can be considered a mixture of these fluids, which may allow for analysis of CSF in matters that relate to the brain interstitial fluid. As the choroid plexus is known to synthesize transferrin, a key question is whether transferrin of the CSF might play a role for iron homeostasis by diffusing from the ventricles and subarachnoid space to the brain interstitium. Intracerebroventricular injection of [59Fe125I] transferrin led to a higher …