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Quantitative evaluation of Al maltolate-induced neurodegeneration with subsequent Al removal by desferrioxamine treatment.

The intracisternal administration of aluminum maltolate to New Zealand white rabbits produces a reproducible neurofibrillary degeneration which is significantly reversed by desferrioxamine treatment. Quantitative analysis of brain and spinal cord tissue demonstrates that the aluminum deposition is higher close to the injection site than at locations further removed from the point of administration. Most importantly, treatment with desferrioxamine removes most of the aluminum from the brain and spinal cord, even from the sites of highest concentration. The ability to manipulate this system in the formation and degradation of NFD and in removal of aluminum may shed light on mechanisms of NFD formation and have implications for therapeutic advances in the treatment of certain human neurodegenerative diseases.

Aluminum↗

Entry, half-life, and desferrioxamine-accelerated clearance of brain aluminum after a single (26)Al exposure.

The objectives of our study were to estimate the percentage of aluminum (Al) that enters the brain, the half-life of brain Al, and the ability of an Al chelator to reduce brain Al. Rats received an iv infusion of Al transferrin, the primary Al species in plasma, or Al citrate, the predominant small molecular weight Al species in plasma. The infusion contained approximately 0.2-0.3 nCi (0.4-0.6 nmol) (26)Al, enabling the study of Al distribution into and retention by the brain at physiological Al concentrations. Some Al transferrin-infused rats received ip injections of the Al chelator desferrioxamine (DFO), 0.15 mmol/kg, three times weekly. The others received saline injections. The rats were euthanized from 4 hr to 4 days (Al citrate) or 256 days (Al transferrin) later. Brain (26)Al was determined by accelerator mass spectrometry. Peak brain (26)Al concentration was approximately 0.005% of the (26)Al dose in each gram of brain, irrespective of Al species administered. In the absence of DFO treatments, brain (26)Al concentration decreased with a half-life of approximately 150 days. The brain Al half-life in the DFO-treated rats was approximately 55 days. The results show a small fraction of Al in blood enters the brain, where it persists for a long time. The ability of repeated DFO treatments to modestly accelerate the reduction of brain Al is consistent with the necessity of prolonged DFO therapy to significantly reduce Al-induced dialysis encephalopathy.

Aluminum↗

ALS syndrome in patients with HIV-1 infection.

BACKGROUND: A viral etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been proposed because of the selective vulnerability of motor neurons to certain viruses. During the last 20 years, at least 19 cases of ALS or ALS-like disease have been reported in HIV-1 (HIV) seropositive individuals. OBJECTIVE: To describe two cases of clinically definite ALS in patients with HIV infection and to review the previously reported cases of HIV-associated ALS syndrome. SETTING: A multidisciplinary ALS center and Neuro-AIDS clinic at a tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS/DESIGN: We investigated and prospectively monitored two patients who had developed clinically definite ALS by El Escorial criteria several years after acquiring the HIV infection. The previously reported cases of ALS or ALS-like disease in patients with HIV infection were reviewed for comparison and contrast with the characteristics of sporadic ALS. RESULTS: The clinical course of ALS in our two HIV seropositive individuals mirrored that of classical sporadic ALS. A review of previously described 19 patients with ALS syndrome revealed clinically definite ALS in 4 cases and clinically probable or possible ALS in 15. ALS commenced at different stages of the HIV disease; in 7 patients, HIV infection was discovered contemporaneously with diagnosis of ALS. CD4+ T cell count ranged from 2 to 560 cells/mm3. Three (1 definite ALS) of the fatal cases were studied at autopsy and all exhibited pathology outside the motor neuron pool. Unlike our patients, 7 of 8 patients with HIV-associated ALS syndrome receiving HAART demonstrated at least partial recovery of their motor deficit. CONCLUSIONS: ALS-like syndrome can occur in association with HIV infection; however, the causal relationship remains uncertain. Patients with ALS syndrome related to HIV infection are generally younger in age and often demonstrate pathology outside the motor neuron system. Patients with HIV-associated ALS syndrome may improve following antiretroviral therapy. An aggressive HAART regimen to reduce viral load should be pursued in all such cases.

Adult↗

Responses of eucalypt species to aluminum: the possible involvement of low molecular weight organic acids in the Al tolerance mechanism.

Aluminum (Al) tolerance mechanisms in crop plants have been extensively researched, but our understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying Al tolerance in trees is still limited. To investigate Al tolerance in eucalypts, seedlings of six species (Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden, Eucalyptus saligna Sm., Eucalyptus cloeziana F. J. Muell. and Eucalyptus grandis w. Hill ex Maiden) and seedlings of six clones of Eucalyptus species were grown for 10 days in nutrient solutions containing Al concentrations varying from 0 to 2.5 microM (0 to 648 microM Al3+ activities). Root elongation of most species was inhibited only by high Al3+ activities. Low to intermediate Al3+ activities were beneficial to root elongation of all species and clones. Among the species tested, E. globulus and E. urophylla were more tolerant to Al toxicity, whereas E. grandis and E. cloeziana were more susceptible to Al-induced damage. Although E. globulus seedlings were tolerant to Al toxicity, they were highly sensitive to lanthanum (La), indicating that the tolerance mechanism is specific for Al. Fine roots accumulated more Al and their elongation was inhibited more than that of thick roots. In E. globulus, accumulation of Al in root tips increased linearly with increasing Al concentration in the nutrient solution. The majority of Al taken up was retained in the root system, and the small amounts of Al translocated to the shoot system were found mainly in older leaves. No more than 60% of the Al in the thick root tip was in an exchangeable form in the apoplast that could be removed by sequential citrate rinses. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and ion chromatography analyses indicated that root exposure to Al led to a greater than 200% increase in malic acid concentration in the root tips of all eucalypt species. The increase in malate concentration in response to Al treatment correlated with the degree of Al tolerance of the species. A small increase in citric acid concentration was also observed in all species, but there were no consistent changes in the concentrations of other organic acids in response to Al treatment. In all eucalypt species, Al treatment induced the secretion of citric and malic acid in root exudates, but no trend with respect to Al tolerance was observed. Thus, although malate and citrate exudation by roots may partially account for the overall high Al tolerance of these eucalypt species, it appears that tolerance is mainly derived from the internal detoxification of Al by complexation with malic acid.

Aluminum↗

DFT study on the reed diethylaluminum cation-like system: structure and bonding in Et(2)Al(CB(11)H(6)X(6)) (X = Cl, Br).

Electronic and molecular structure has been investigated in the diethylaluminum cation-like system Et(2)Al(CB(11)H(6)X(6)) (1, X = Cl; 2, X = Br) and neutral compounds AlX(3) (X = Cl, Br, Me, C(6)H(5)) with DFT B3LYP and BP86 levels of theory. The calculated geometries of Et(2)Al(CB(11)H(6)X(6)) (1, X = Cl; 2, X = Br) are in excellent agreement with those determined experimentally by X-ray crystallography. The Al-X bond distances 2.442, 2.445 A in 1 and 2.579, 2.589 A in 2 are longer than those expected for single bonds based on covalent radius predictions (Al-Cl = 2.15 A and Al-Br = 2.32 A) and those observed for bridged Al-X-Al bonds (2.21 A in Al(2)Cl(6), 2.33 A in Al(2)Br(6)) and are close to sum of ionic radii of Al(3+) and X(-) (Al-Cl = 2.35 A and Al-Br = 2.50 A). The optimized geometries of the neutral compounds AlX(3) (X = Cl, Br, Me(3), C(6)H(5)) at BP86/TZ2P show Al-Cl = 2.088 A in AlCl(3), Al-Br = 2.234 A in AlBr(3), Al-C = 1.973 A in AlMe(3), Al-C = 2.255 A in Al(C(6)F(5))(3). These bond distances are similar to those expected for single bonds based on covalent radius predictions. The calculated charge distribution indicates that the aluminum atom carries a significant positive charge while the ethyl and carborane groups are negatively charged. The Cl and Br atoms in compounds 1 and 2 are slightly positive while, in neutral compounds AlX(3) (X = Cl, Br, Me(3), C(6)H(5)), X is negatively charged. Energy decomposition analysis of Et(2)Al(delta)(+)(carborane)(delta)(-) shows that the bonding between the fragments is more than half electrostatic. The ionic character of the Al...Cl bonds in compound 1(59.8%) is greater than the Al.Br bonds in the compound 2 (57.9%). This quantifies and gives legitimacy to the designation of these types of compounds as "ion-like". The Al-X bonding in AlX(3) is mainly covalent with percentage ionic character 28.2% in AlCl(3), 31.5% in AlBr(3), 25.6% in AlMe(3), 18.4% in Al(C(6)F(5))(3).

Journal Article↗

Differential Al resistance and citrate secretion in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

While barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) is the most sensitive species to Al toxicity among small-grain crops, variation in Al resistance between cultivars does exist. We examined the mechanism responsible for differential Al resistance in 21 barley varieties. Citrate was secreted from the roots in response to Al stress. A positive correlation between citrate secretion and Al resistance [(root elongation with Al)/(root elongation without Al)] and a negative correlation between citrate secretion and Al content of root apices, were obtained, suggesting that citrate secretion from the root apices plays an important role in excluding Al and thereby detoxifying Al. The Al-induced secretion of citrate was characterized using an Al-resistant variety (Sigurdkorn) and an Al-sensitive variety (Kearney). In Sigurdkorn, Al-induced secretion of citrate occurred within 20 min, and the secretion did not increase with increasing external Al concentration. The Al-induced citrate secretion ceased at low temperature (6 degrees C) and was inhibited by anion-channel inhibitors. Internal citrate content of root apices was increased by Al exposure in Sigurdkorn, but was not affected in Kearney. The activity of citrate synthase was unaffected by Al in both Al-resistant and Al-sensitive varieties. The secretion rate of organic acid anions from barley was the lowest among wheat, rye and triticale.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Chemical species of Al reacting with soil humic acids.

The formation and presence of aluminum tridecamer (Al(13), [AlO(4)Al(12)(OH)(24)(H(2)O)(12)](7+)) in solution was strongly inhibited by soil humic acids (HA), as shown by liquid-state 27Al-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. It was also observed that Al(13) coprecipitated with HA in the form of Al(13)-HA complexes, as shown by solid-state magic angle spinning (MAS) 27Al-NMR analyses. Tetrahedral Al in the Al(13)-HA complexes was gradually converted to octahedral Al, indicating that Al(13) in Al(13)-HA complexes was decomposed into Al-HA complexes with reaction time. When HA was present in the acidic Al solution before the partial neutralization, the precipitates formed after the partial neutralization did not contain any tetrahedral Al, indicating the absence of Al(13) and that HA is a strong inhibitor of Al(13) formation. These results indicate that Al(13) is not formed from Al complexed with soil HA after partial neutralization. If Al(13) was added to soils, it would preferentially form precipitates of non-phytotoxic Al(13)-HA complex in the presence of excess HA (i.e. a COOH/Al(13) molar ratio of more than 9) and gradually be converted to an octahedral Al-HA complex. Therefore, Al(13) is not a major plant-growth inhibitor in humus-rich acidic soils.

Aluminum Compounds↗