Metals are found associated with β-pleated sheets of Aβ42 in vivo and may be involved in their formation. Metal chelation has been proposed as a therapy for Alzheimer's disease on the basis that it may safely dissolve precipitated Aβ peptides. We have followed fibrillisation of Aβ42 in the presence of an additional metal ion (Al(III), Fe(III), Zn(II), Cu(II)) over a period of 32 weeks and we have investigated the dissolution of these aged peptide aggregates in the presence of both desferrioxamine (DFO) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Aβ42 either alone or in the presence of Al(III) or Fe(III) formed β-pleated sheets of plaque-like amyloids which were dissolved upon incubation with either chelator. Zn(II) inhibited whilst Cu(II) prevented the formation of β-pleated sheets of Aβ42 and neither of these influences were affected by incubation of the aged peptide aggregates with either DFO or EDTA. Freshly prepared solutions of Aβ42 either alone or in the presence of added Al(III) or Fe(III) did not form β-pleated amyloid in the presence of DFO when incubated for up to 8 weeks. EDTA did not prevent β-pleated amyloid formation in the same treatments and promoted β-pleated amyloid formation in the presence of either Zn(II) or Cu(II). The presence of significant concentrations of Al(III) and Fe(III) as contaminants of 'Aβ42 only' preparations suggested that both of these metals were involved in either triggering the formation or stabilising the structure of β-pleated amyloid. If the formation of such amyloid is critical to the aetiology of AD then the chelation of Al(III) and Fe(III) may prove to be a protective mechanism whilst the chelation of Cu(II) and Zn(II) without also chelating Al(III) and Fe(III) might actually exacerbate the condition.

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Human activities have circumvented the efficient geochemical cycling of aluminium within the lithosphere and therewith opened a door, which was previously only ajar, onto the biotic cycle to instigate and promote the accumulation of aluminium in biota and especially humans. Neither these relatively recent activities nor the entry of aluminium into the living cycle are showing any signs of abating and it is thus now imperative that we understand as fully as possible how humans are exposed to aluminium and the future consequences of a burgeoning exposure and body burden. The aluminium age is upon us and there is now an urgent need to understand how to live safely and effectively with aluminium.

BackgroundLong-term biodistribution of nanomaterials used in medicine is largely unknown. This is the case for alum, the most widely used vaccine adjuvant, which is a nanocrystalline compound spontaneously forming micron/submicron-sized agglomerates. Although generally well tolerated, alum is occasionally detected within monocyte-lineage cells long after immunization in presumably susceptible individuals with systemic/neurologic manifestations or autoimmune (inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA).MethodsOn the grounds of preliminary investigations in 252 patients with alum-associated ASIA showing both a selective increase of circulating CCL2, the major monocyte chemoattractant, and a variation in the CCL2 gene, we designed mouse experiments to assess biodistribution of vaccine-derived aluminum and of alum-particle fluorescent surrogates injected in muscle. Aluminum was detected in tissues by Morin stain and particle induced X-ray emission) (PIXE) Both 500 nm fluorescent latex beads and vaccine alum agglomerates-sized nanohybrids (Al-Rho) were used.ResultsIntramuscular injection of alum-containing vaccine was associated with the appearance of aluminum deposits in distant organs, such as spleen and brain where they were still detected one year after injection. Both fluorescent materials injected into muscle translocated to draining lymph nodes (DLNs) and thereafter were detected associated with phagocytes in blood and spleen. Particles linearly accumulated in the brain up to the six-month endpoint; they were first found in perivascular CD11b+ cells and then in microglia and other neural cells. DLN ablation dramatically reduced the biodistribution. Cerebral translocation was not observed after direct intravenous injection, but significantly increased in mice with chronically altered blood-brain-barrier. Loss/gain-of-function experiments consistently implicated CCL2 in systemic diffusion of Al-Rho particles captured by monocyte-lineage cells and in their subsequent neurodelivery. Stereotactic particle injection pointed out brain retention as a factor of progressive particle accumulation.ConclusionNanomaterials can be transported by monocyte-lineage cells to DLNs, blood and spleen, and, similarly to HIV, may use CCL2-dependent mechanisms to penetrate the brain. This occurs at a very low rate in normal conditions explaining good overall tolerance of alum despite its strong neurotoxic potential. However, continuously escalating doses of this poorly biodegradable adjuvant in the population may become insidiously unsafe, especially in the case of overimmunization or immature/altered blood brain barrier or high constitutive CCL-2 production.

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