PubMed · 8129152
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J G Francis. 1994. Metal sensitivity.. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2044.1994.tb03412.x
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We reported that protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors increase the release of arachidonic acid induced by fluoroaluminate (AlF4-), an unspecific G-protein activator, in intact human platelets. Now we demonstrate that this effect is independent of the extracellular Ca2+ concentration and that AlF4(-)-induced release of AA is abolished by BAPTA, an intracellular Ca2+ chelator, even in the presence of GF 109203X, a specific and potent PKC inhibitor. This compound also blocks the liberation of the secretory phospholipase A2 in the extracellular medium, indicating that this enzyme is not involved in the potentiation of arachidonic acid by PKC inhibitors. On the other hand, the latter effect is completely abolished by treatment of platelets with AACOCF3, a specific inhibitor of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). These observations indicate that cPLA2 is responsible for the AlF4(-)-induced release of arachidonic acid by a mechanism that is down-regulated by PKC.
BACKGROUND: In less-developed countries, novel strategies are needed to control iron-deficiency anaemia, the most common form of malnutrition. METHODS: We undertook a community-based randomised controlled trial to assess the effects of iron or aluminium cooking pots in young Ethiopian children. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The primary outcomes were change in children's haemoglobin concentration, weight, or length over the study period. We also did a laboratory study of total and available iron in traditional Ethiopian foods cooked in iron, aluminium, and clay pots. FINDINGS: 407 children, one per household, entered the study. The change in haemoglobin concentration was greater in the iron-pot group than in the aluminium-pot group (mean change to 12 months 1.7 [SD 1.5] vs 0.4 [1.0] g/dL; mean difference between groups 1.3 g/dL [95% Cl 1.1-1.6]). The mean differences between the groups in weight and length gain to 12 months (adjusted for baseline weight or length) were 0.6 cm (95% CI 0.1-1.0) and 0.1 kg (-0.1 to 0.3). The laboratory study showed that total and available iron was greatest in foods cooked in iron pots, except for available iron in legumes for which there was no difference between types of pot. INTERPRETATION: Ethiopian children fed food from iron pots had lower rates of anaemia and better growth than children whose food was cooked in aluminium pots. Provision of iron cooking pots for households in less-developed countries may be a useful method to prevent iron-deficiency anaemia.
In order to elucidate if the inhibition mechanisms of Aluminum (Al) on intestinal calcium flux involve some possible action on calbindin-D9k, a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were carried out in normal and in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats. The dose-response curves obtained from the in vitro studies indicate that, in the diabetic group (which has a lower content of calbindin-D9k), the effect of Al on JCa(ms) has a small dependence on rising Al concentration (0-10 microM). The parameters obtained from those curves: Emax (maximum reduction percentage of JCa(ms)) and ED50 (Al concentration that produces half of the highest inhibition) were significantly diminished in this group compared to control. Both s.c. injections of calcitriol (D3) at doses of 0.08 and 0.40 microg/kg body wt. per day and insulin (10 IU/kg body wt. per day), increase the inhibitory effect of Al to levels that did not differ from controls. In vivo gavage of 60 mg/kg body wt. per day of aluminum chloride for 1 week reveals that the degree of reduction of intestinal CaBP9k by Al is directly correlated to duodenal content of this protein (r2 = 0.683, P = 0.022).