Zatta P F, Cervellin D, Zambenedetti P
Centro CNR-Metalloproteine at the University of Padova, Italy.
Toxicol In Vitro. 1998 Jun 1;12(3):287-93. doi: 10.1016/s0887-2333(97)00120-3.
The great majority of papers dealing with aluminium (Al) experimental toxicology in vivo and/or in vitro, do not consider the relevance of the metal chemical speciation as a conditio sine qua non to a correct interpretation of aluminium toxicological data. In fact, different aluminium compounds such as salts, stable, metastable, lipophilic or hydrophilic complexes with different thermodynamics and kinetics properties are indifferently utilized by most laboratories. In this connection, the molecular bases that explain Al toxicity are largely uninterpretable. The aim of this study, therefore, is to demonstrate how relevant is the issue of aluminium speciation to the understanding of the toxic properties of the metal ion. In our experimentation we used, as a heuristic model, rabbit erythrocytes (RBC) (Sheetz and Singer, 1974), because these animals are well known for their sensitivity to Al intoxication (Wisniewski and Sturman, 1989). Results reported herein show how the metal chemical speciation can paradigmatically modify the RBC morphology in a metal speciation-dependent manner. Finally, a new toxicological protocol that, by simplifying the methodology of aluminium solution preparation, could standardize the study of aluminium toxicity is also proposed.
