Mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in oxidative stress-induced ...
Mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in oxidative stress-induced ...
Mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in oxidative stress-induced ...
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CHAPTER 3<br />
DISCUSSION<br />
132<br />
Alum<strong>in</strong>ium is a non-redox metal whose accumulation <strong>in</strong> the bra<strong>in</strong> has been<br />
l<strong>in</strong>ked to various neurodegenerative diseases (Yokel 2000, Zatta et al. 2003). Several<br />
hypotheses have been given to expla<strong>in</strong> its reported ability to promote biological<br />
oxidations (Exley 2004a). Thus, it has been shown to facilitate iron-<strong>in</strong>duced lipid<br />
peroxidation (Gutteridge et al. 1985); non-iron-<strong>in</strong>duced lipid peroxidation (Verstraeten<br />
and Oteiza 2000); non-iron-mediated oxidation <strong>of</strong> NADH (Kong et al. 1992); and non-<br />
iron-mediated formation <strong>of</strong> � OH (Méndez-Álvarez et al. 2002). Additionally, it also<br />
appears to <strong>in</strong>hibit several antioxidant enzymes <strong>in</strong> different parts <strong>of</strong> the bra<strong>in</strong> (Nehru and<br />
Anand 2005).<br />
In the present study <strong>alum<strong>in</strong>ium</strong> was adm<strong>in</strong>istered at a dosage regimen to<br />
guarantee its accumulation <strong>in</strong> different areas <strong>of</strong> rat bra<strong>in</strong> (Sánchez-Iglesias et al. 2007b).<br />
Alum<strong>in</strong>ium-treated animals rema<strong>in</strong>ed healthy and showed no signs <strong>of</strong> toxicity dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the treatment. However, certa<strong>in</strong> t<strong>in</strong>y, white <strong>in</strong>clusions were observed float<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
abdom<strong>in</strong>al cavity, probably caused by a partial precipitation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>alum<strong>in</strong>ium</strong> and<br />
previously reported (Abubakar et al. 2004a).<br />
Previous studies have shown results rang<strong>in</strong>g from no significant changes <strong>in</strong><br />
TBARS levels (Oteiza et al. 1993b), to an <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> TBARS levels (Sharma and<br />
Mishra 2006), and a significant decrease <strong>in</strong> TBARS levels (Abubakar et al. 2004b). Our<br />
data clearly demonstrate that <strong>alum<strong>in</strong>ium</strong> exposure caused a significant <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the<br />
levels <strong>of</strong> TBARS <strong>in</strong> most <strong>of</strong> the bra<strong>in</strong> areas studied, but particularly so <strong>in</strong> the<br />
cerebellum. Although, some authors have reported a decrease (Esparza et al. 2003) or<br />
no changes (Deloncle et al. 1999) <strong>in</strong> the levels <strong>of</strong> TBARS, our results are <strong>in</strong> total<br />
(Esparza et al. 2005, Nehru and Anand 2005, Dua and Gill 2001, Jyoti et al. 2007) or<br />
partial agreement (Julka and Gill 1996a) with most previously published data.<br />
Curiously, we found no significant changes <strong>in</strong> the levels <strong>of</strong> TBARS <strong>in</strong> the hippocampus<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>alum<strong>in</strong>ium</strong> adm<strong>in</strong>istration. In our op<strong>in</strong>ion, the apparent contradictory results<br />
found <strong>in</strong> the literature are due to the use <strong>of</strong> different chemical forms for <strong>alum<strong>in</strong>ium</strong><br />
exposure (Esparza et al. 2003, Julka and Gill 1996a) and/or to the use <strong>of</strong> different