Aluminum intoxication: a disorder of neurofilament transport in motor neurons.

In the rabbit, intrathecal administration of aluminum salts (AlCl3) induces accumulation of neurofilaments in nerve cells of the central nervous system. In motor neurons, the spatial pattern of neurofilamentous accumulation following aluminum intoxication suggests a defect in the axonal transport of neurofilament proteins. To test this hypothesis, we examined the distribution of radioactive cytoskeletal proteins in sciatic nerves of intoxicated and control animals. In the nerves of aluminum-injected animals, there was a 40% reduction in the relative amount of radioactive neurofilament proteins compared to tubulin. These results suggest that an abnormality in neurofilament transport may be important in the pathogenesis of the neurofibrillary pathology induced by aluminum intoxication.