This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Uemura, E. Articles by Martens, C. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Uemura, E. Articles by Martens, C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Aluminum Induces Neurite Elongation and Sprouting in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Raj K. Lartius, BS

Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

Catherine Martens, BS

Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.

It has been reported that the aluminum content in the human brain increases with age, and it is particularly high in those with Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we found that a low aluminum concentration (100 µmol/L) in the culture media of opossum hippocampal neurons can induce extensive neurite outgrowth (ie, elongation and branching of neurites) and sprouting (ie, outgrowth of filiform processes from neurite varicosities) within 48 hours. Such changes in neurite morphology were remarkably similar to those described in the aged or Alzheimer's disease brain. Neurites that responded to aluminum varied greatly in length, thickness, and branching pattern. Many neurites appeared to have no clear directional growth pattern because they frequently changed their course and formed a meshwork of neurites with others originating from the same cell body. Sprouting neurites varied in length, thickness, and branching pattern, but they always originated from a globular enlargement of neurites along the neurite shaft or at the terminal end. Such growth pattern and extensive sprouting of neurites did not fit the growth pattern displayed by the control neurons. Our findings suggest that aluminum may be involved in the neuronal remodeling characteristic of aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 6, No. 4, 239-244 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/089198879300600411


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?