著者

Masahiro Kawahara Ken-ichiro Tanaka Midori Kato-Negishi

出版者

Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements

雑誌

Metallomics Research (ISSN:24365173)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.1, no.1, pp.rev-47-rev-65, 2021-12-15 (Released:2022-01-29)

参考文献数

176

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Aluminum (Al) is the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust. However, because of its specific chemical properties, Al is not essential for life, and it exerts various adverse effects on plants, animals, and humans. In particular, Al is a widely recognized neurotoxin. The association between Al and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease dementia in the Kii Peninsula and Guam has been suspected. However, controversy has persisted for several decades. Based on recent epidemiological, analytical, and toxicological studies, we review the detailed characteristics of Al neurotoxicity and revisit its link to Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases. The daily intake of Al and its bioavailability linked with adverse effects on human health are also described.

著者

Masahiro Kawahara Keiko Konoha Tetusya Nagata Yutaka Sadakane

出版者

Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements

雑誌

Biomedical Research on Trace Elements (ISSN:0916717X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.18, no.3, pp.211-220, 2007-10-01 (Released:2008-04-04)

参考文献数

56

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Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust. However, it is not essential for life. Owing to its specific chemical properties, aluminum inhibits more than 200 biologically important functions and causes various adverse effects. It is suggested that the exposure to aluminum has a relationship with neurodegenerative diseases including dialysis encephalopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinsonism dementia in the Kii Peninsula and Guam, and Alzheimer's disease. However, these relationships still remain elusive. Furthermore, the complexity of bioavailability has difficulty in evaluation of aluminum toxicity. In this paper, we review the detailed characteristics of aluminum neurotoxicity and bioavailability based on the recent literatures, and discuss its biological fate and effects to human health. Considering its long half-life in the body, unnecessary exposure to aluminum should be avoided for human health.

著者

Satoru Oshiro Masahiro Kawahara Shirao Mika Kazuyo Muramoto Kazuo Kobayashi Ryuta Ishige Koji Nozawa Makoto Hori Cai Yung Shigetaka Kitajima Yoichiro Kuroda

出版者

The Japanese Biochemical Society

雑誌

The Journal of Biochemistry (ISSN:0021924X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.123, no.1, pp.42-46, 1998 (Released:2008-11-18)

参考文献数

27

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We previously demonstrated that cultured human fibroblasts internalize iron via transferrin-independent iron uptake (Tf-IU), redox, and receptor-mediated endocytosis uptake systems [Oshiro, S., Nakajima, H., Markello, T., Krasnewich, D., Bernardini, I., and Gahl, W. A. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 21586-21591]. Of these iron transport systems, the Tf-IU system is involved in the accumulation of transition metals in various mammalian cells. It is also known that in experimental animals fed aluminum (Al), Al at micromolar level selectively accumulates in the brain. In the present study, we examined the effects of Al accumulated in the brain cells on iron transport by the Tf-IU system and iron metabolism, using primary cultures from fetal rat cerebral cortex. Pretreatment of cells with 200 μM Al-nitrilotriacetate upregulated the Tf-IU system for iron. Moreover, of various metals tested, Al markedly upregulated the Tf-IU activity. To examine the influence of Al on iron metabolism, the interaction between Al accumulated in the cells and iron-responsive element binding protein (IRE-BP), a cellular iron regulator, was examined by Northern blot analysis, and activity assay: Al decreased the Tf receptor mRNA level and increased the aconitase activity of IRE-BP. The increase of aconitase activity by Al was also observed in vitro. These results suggest that Al accumulated in cortical cells affects iron metabolism.