Aluminium deposition in liver and kidney following acute intravenous administration of aluminium chloride or citrate in conscious rats

1. Plasma, urinary, liver and kidney cell aluminium (Al) levels were monitored in the rat, 1h after intravenous administration of 29630 nmol (800 micrograms) Al as either Al chloride or as Al citrate (Al chloride plus excess sodium citrate). Al levels were measured in plasma, urine and liver by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Liver and kidney Al content was measured at the cellular and subcellular level by electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA). 2. Urinary excretion of Al was significantly higher (P < 0.01), when Al was given as the citrate than as the chloride. After 1h, plasma Al levels were significantly lower in the Al citrate group than the Al chloride group (59 +/- 3.7 vs 877 +/- 214 nmol ml-1, respectively; P < 0.01). 3. Al concentrations were significantly higher in the livers of rats receiving Al chloride (818 +/- 252 nmol g-1 wet weight; P < 0.05), than in either control or Al citrate groups (122 +/- 41 and 107 +/- 26 nmol g-1 wet weight, respectively). Al concentrations derived from EPXMA measurements were in agreement with AAS values for the three groups, with significantly higher Al concentrations in the Al chloride group (1.7 +/- 0.4 nmol mg-1 dry weight; P < 0.05) than in the control or Al citrate groups, where Al was not detectable. EPXMA analysis showed that Al was distributed in all liver organelles analysed (cytoplasm, mitochondria, nucleus, ER) and was not preferentially taken up by any one organelle in Al chloride treated rats. 4. Significant amounts of Al were found in cytoplasm and mitochondria of proximal tubule cells of rats given Al citrate (0.64 +/- 0.15 and 0.80 +/- 0.11 nmol mg-1 dry weight, respectively), but not in nuclei or lysosomes of these cells. Al levels were not detectable in control kidneys, in proximal tubule cells after Al chloride administration or distal tubule cells after either Al treatment.

Effect of citrate on plasma aluminium concentration and aluminium excretion in the rat

1. Plasma aluminium concentration and urinary aluminium excretion were monitored for 4.5 h in rats after the administration of 25 micrograms or 800 micrograms of aluminium as an intravenous bolus, either as aluminium chloride or as aluminium citrate (i.e. aluminium chloride together with sodium citrate). 2. Immediately after the bolus aluminium administration, the plasma aluminium concentration was higher in the groups given aluminium chloride than in those which received aluminium citrate, although the difference was significant (P < 0.05) only for the 25 micrograms dose. This difference between aluminium chloride and citrate indicates that the citrate form has a higher volume of distribution (i.e. is able to leave the plasma). The calculated volume of distribution for the 25 micrograms of aluminium chloride (17.5 ml) was similar to the plasma volume of the rats used (15 ml). 3. In experiments in vitro, the ultrafilterability of aqueous solutions of aluminium chloride and aluminium citrate were compared. Only 1.05 +/- 0.09% of the aluminium chloride solution was ultrafilterable (aluminium concentration 28,200 +/- 730 ng/ml), whereas 97.3 +/- 2.4% of the aluminium citrate was ultrafilterable (aluminium concentration 42,000 +/- 370 ng/ml). When the filterability of aluminium in plasma was examined, the aluminium chloride ultrafilterability was identical with that in aqueous solution (1.06 +/- 0.13%, aluminium concentration 19,800 +/- 2956 ng/ml), but the aluminium citrate was 79.8 +/- 7.1% ultrafilterable (aluminium concentration 10,125 +/- 591 ng/ml).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Renal filtration, reabsorption and excretion of aluminium in the rat

1. Plasma and urinary aluminium levels, and renal function, were investigated in a control group of rats (n = 5) and in two groups that received an intravenous bolus dose of aluminium chloride (either 25 micrograms or 800 micrograms of aluminium, n = 7 and 5, respectively). 2. In the control group (plasma aluminium concentration 76.8 +/- 14.2 ng/ml), 59.4 +/- 3.5% of the plasma aluminium was ultrafilterable. The percentage ultrafilterable after the administration of 25 micrograms of aluminium was 41.9 +/- 7.8 (plasma concentration 154.3 +/- 18.6 ng/ml). However, after administration of 800 micrograms of aluminium, to give a plasma concentration of 19,800 +/- 2956 ng/ml, only 1.06 +/- 0.13% was ultrafilterable. 3. Such results have generally been interpreted as indicating an increase in protein-binding of aluminium with increasing aluminium concentration. In buffered aqueous solutions of aluminium chloride at pH 7.4, with an aluminium concentration of 189 +/- 6 ng/ml, 96.12 +/- 0.02% was ultrafilterable (n = 6). This concentration is comparable with that attained in the low-dose (25 micrograms) aluminium group of animals and suggests that the difference between the ultrafilterable percentage of aluminium in plasma compared with that in aqueous solution is indeed due to the binding of aluminium to high Mr material (proteins). In contrast, however, in an aqueous buffered (pH 7.4) solution containing 28,200 ng of aluminium/ml, only 1.05 +/- 0.09% was ultrafilterable. This indicates insolubility (i.e. colloid formation) of the aluminium at this high concentration. The same percentage (1.06 +/- 0.13) was ultrafilterable from plasma from the high-dose (800 micrograms) aluminium group with a plasma aluminium concentration of 19,800 +/- 2956 ng/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)