An investigation of aluminium neurotoxicity using some in vitro systems

By Atterwill, C.K. - Davies, W.J. - Kyriakides, M.A.

It has been shown that acute exposure in vitro to high concentrations of aluminum chloride does not appear to perturb neural function in terms of the electrophysiological properties of lower vertebrate leech neurones. Longer term exposure in vitro, however, both non-specifically inhibits cellular differentiation and also produces neural cytotoxicity in the rat midbrain micromass, mixed cell culture model. Furthermore, previous studies from this laboratory have demonstrated a reduction of cholinergic neuronal function in brain organotypic reaggregate cultures following long-term, but not short-term, exposure. More-immature neural cells appear to be most sensitive to the effects of aluminum. Relating these data to the tiered in vitro test system for neurotoxicants previously proposed by Atterwill, it is apparent that the neurotoxic effects of aluminum are detectable in a first-stage procedure using the micromass culture model, but not following acute exposure in freshly isolated, ex vitro leech neurones. Functional cholinergic toxicity was also detected in the organotypic reaggregate cultures proposed as a second level screen.