Neurobehavioral Alteration in Rodents Following Developmental Exposure To Aluminum

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) is one of the most abundant metals in the earth's crust, and humans can be exposed to it from several sources. It is present in food, water, pharmaceutical compounds, and in the environment, e.g., as a result of acid rain leaching it from the soil. Exposure to Al has recently been implicated in a number of human pathologies, but it has not yet been definitely proved that it plays a major causal role in any of them. In this paper we review the effects of developmental exposure of laboratory animals to Al salts as a model for human pathological conditions. The data presented show behavioral and neurochemical changes in the offspring of AL-exposed mouse dams during gestation, which include alterations in the pattern of ultrasonic vocalizations and a marked reduction in central nervous system (CNS) choline acetyltransferase activity. Prenatal Al also affects CNS cholinergic functions under Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) control, as shown by increased central NGF levels and impaired performances in a maze learning task in young-adult mice. The need for more detailed studies to evaluate the risks for humans associated with developmental exposure to Al, as well as the importance of using more than one strain of laboratory animal in the experimental design, is emphasized.

Neuroprotective effects of eugenol against aluminiuminduced toxicity in the rat brain

“…Comparable results were previously reported (2,3). Al exerts its cholinotoxic effects by blocking the provision of acetyl-CoA or by impairing the choline acetyltransferase activity (49). Also, Al can interact with plasma membrane lipids and affect the activity of membrane associated enzymes, including AChE.…”

Effects of Genetic Background, Gender, and Early Environmental Factors on Isolation-Induced Ultrasonic Calling in Mouse Pups: An Embryo-Transfer Study

“…The finding that early environmental factors can influence calling behavior is in accordance with studies on the effects of prenatal malnutrition (Tonkiss et al 2003), prenatal stress (Morgan et al 1999;Williams et al 1998), perinatal asphyxia (Calmandrei et al 2004) or pre-and postnatal exposure of various substances, like alcohol (Barron and Gilbertson 2005;Marino et al 2002;Tatolli et al 2001), cocaine (Hahn et al 2000), lead (De Marco et al 2005), aluminum (Alleva et al 1998), or carbon monoxide (Di Giovanni et al 1993) on ultrasonic calling in infant rodents. However, in the natural context, variations in maternal care might be of major importance.…”

Memory performance, brain excitatory amino acid and acetylcholinesterase activity of chronically aluminum exposed mice in response to soy isoflavones treatment

“…The results of this study showed that SI treatment improved the long memory performance of chronically Al exposed mice. Concerning the correlation of Al with learning and memory ability, previous studies have shown that Al may involve the formation of neurofi brillary tangles and cognitive defi cits in Alzheimer's disease (Alleva et al, 1998;Colomina et al, 1999;Golub et al, 1995;Neill et al, 1996;Pratico et al, 2002). A large increase of Al content in experimental animals due to Al exposure was observed in the hippocampus, which is the site of memory and learning (Julka and Gill, 1996).…”

“…Extensive studies have shown a potential link between chronic aluminum (Al) exposure and cognitive defi cits (Akila et al, 1999;Alleva et al, 1998;Colomina et al, 1999;Nayak and Chatterjee, 2001;van Rensburg et al, 2001). Aluminum is considered a potential etiological factor in Alzheimer's disease because Al might induce characteristic brain neurofi brillary of the disease (ElRahman, 2003).…”