Dietary Egg White Hydrolysate Prevents Male Reproductive Dysfunction after Long-Term Exposure to Aluminum in Rats.

Aluminum (Al) is a non-essential metal omnipresent in human life and is considered an environmental toxicant. Al increases reactive oxygen production and triggers immune responses, contributing to chronic systemic inflammation development. Here, we have tested whether an egg white hydrolysate (EWH) with potential bioactive properties can protect against changes in reproductive function in rats exposed to long-term Al dietary levels at high and low doses.

The influence of aluminium and copper upon the early aggregatory behaviour and size of Islet amyloid polypeptide under simulated physiological conditions.

Background And Aim: Islet amyloid polypeptide/amylin deposition in the form of amyloid plaques is a common pathological feature observed in the pancreatic tissue of those with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. Its propensity to form amyloid fibrils and the resultant toxicity of this peptide in vivo is influenced by both the concentration and species of metal present in situ. Herein, we examine the influence of Al (III) and Cu (II), applied at equimolar and supra-stoichiometric concentrations on the initial aggregatory behaviour of amylin under near physiological conditions.

Aluminium co-localises with Biondi ring tangles in Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Aluminium is known to accumulate in neuropathological hallmarks. However, such has only tentatively been suggested in Biondi ring tangles. Owing to their intracellular and filamentous structure rich in β-pleated sheets, Biondi ring tangles might attract the adventitious binding of aluminium in regions of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier.

Aluminum and Tau in Neurofibrillary Tangles in Familial Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD) is driven by genetic predispositions affecting the expression and metabolism of the amyloid-β protein precursor. Aluminum is a non-essential yet biologically-reactive metal implicated in the etiology of AD. Recent research has identified aluminum intricately and unequivocally associated with amyloid-β in senile plaques and, more tentatively, co-deposited with neuropil-like threads in the brains of a Colombian cohort of donors with fAD.

Monitoring the early aggregatory behaviour and size of Aβ in the absence & presence of metal ions using dynamic light scattering.

Background And Aim: Aβ is an amyloidogenic peptide found within senile plaques extracted from those who died with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The potent neurotoxicity of this peptide is related to its propensity to form aggregated conformations in vivo, a process that is influenced by the species and concentration of metal ions present within the local environment. This study examines the impact of different metals upon the early aggregatory behaviour and size of Aβ under simulated physiological conditions.

The measurement and full statistical analysis including Bayesian methods of the aluminium content of infant vaccines.

Background: Aluminium salts are the most common adjuvants in infant vaccines. The aluminium content of a vaccine is provided by the manufacturer and is indicated on the patient information leaflet. There is no independent verification, for example by the European Medicines Agency, of the aluminium content of infant vaccines.

CERT reduces C16 ceramide, amyloid-β levels, and inflammation in a model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Dysregulation of ceramide and sphingomyelin levels have been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ceramide transfer proteins (CERTs) are ceramide carriers which are crucial for ceramide and sphingomyelin balance in cells. Extracellular forms of CERTs co-localize with amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in AD brains.

Aluminum and Neurofibrillary Tangle Co-Localization in Familial Alzheimer's Disease and Related Neurological Disorders.

Background: Protein misfolding disorders are frequently implicated in neurodegenerative conditions. Familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD) is an early-onset and aggressive form of Alzheimer's disease (AD), driven through autosomal dominant mutations in genes encoding the amyloid precursor protein and presenilins 1 and 2. The incidence of epilepsy is higher in AD patients with shared neuropathological hallmarks in both disease states, including the formation of neurofibrillary tangles.

Aluminium in human brain tissue from donors without neurodegenerative disease: A comparison with Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and autism.

A burgeoning number of studies are demonstrating aluminium in human brain tissue. While research has both quantified and imaged aluminium in human brain tissue in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disease there are few similar data for brain tissue from non-neurologically impaired donors. We have used microwave assisted acid digestion and transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry to measure aluminium in twenty brains from donors without recognisable neurodegenerative disease.

Imaging of aluminium and amyloid β in neurodegenerative disease.

Objectives: Recent research has confirmed the presence of aluminium in human brain tissue. Quantitative analyses suggest increased brain aluminium content in a number of neurodegenerative diseases including familial Alzheimer's disease, congophilic amyloid angiopathy, epilepsy and autism. Complementary aluminium-specific fluorescence microscopy identifies the location of aluminium in human brain tissue and demonstrates significant differences in distribution between diseases.

Aluminum-induced alterations of purinergic signalling in embryonic neural progenitor cells.

The ubiquitous presence of aluminum in the environment leads to a high likelihood of human exposure. Neurotoxicity of the trivalent cationic form of this metal (Al3+) occurs in the central nervous system via accumulation of Al in cells of neural origin, including neural progenitor cells (NPCs). NPCs play a key role in the development and regeneration of the brain throughout life; therefore, this metal may contribute to neuropathological conditions.

Visualising Silicon in Plants: Histochemistry, Silica Sculptures and Elemental Imaging.

Silicon is a non-essential element for plants and is available in biota as silicic acid. Its presence has been associated with a general improvement of plant vigour and response to exogenous stresses. Plants accumulate silicon in their tissues as amorphous silica and cell walls are preferential sites.

Aluminum and Amyloid-β in Familial Alzheimer's Disease.

Genetic predispositions associated with metabolism of the amyloid-β protein precursor underlie familial Alzheimer's disease; a form of dementia characterized by early disease onset and elevated levels of cortical amyloid-β. Human exposure to aluminum is linked to the etiology of Alzheimer's disease and recent research measured a high content of aluminum in brain tissue in familial Alzheimer's disease. To elaborate upon this finding, we have obtained brain tissues from a Colombian cohort of donors with familial Alzheimer's disease.

The interaction of aluminium-based adjuvants with THP-1 macrophages in vitro: Implications for cellular survival and systemic translocation.

Within clinical vaccinations, recombinant antigens are routinely entrapped inside or adsorbed onto the surface of aluminium salts in order to increase their immunological potency in vivo. The efficacy of these immunisations is highly dependent upon the recognition and uptake of these complexes by professional phagocytes and their subsequent delivery to the draining lymph nodes for further immunological processing. While monocytes have been shown to internalise aluminium adjuvants and their adsorbates, the role of macrophages in this respect has not been fully established.

Correction to: Aluminium in human brain tissue: how much is too much?

The authors declare.

Correction to: Unequivocal imaging of aluminium in human cells and tissues by an improved method using morin.

After publication of our article, it has come to our attention that our Conflict of Interest statement should read.

Egg White Hydrolysate: A new putative agent to prevent vascular dysfunction in rats following long-term exposure to aluminum.

Aluminum (Al) is toxic for humans and animals. Here, we have tested the potential for Egg White Hydrolysate (EWH) to protect against cardiovascular changes in rats exposed to both high and low dietary levels of Al. Indeed, EWH has been previously shown to improve cardio metabolic dysfunctions induced by chronic exposure to heavy metals.

Identification of the aquaporin gene family in Cannabis sativa and evidence for the accumulation of silicon in its tissues.

Cannabis sativa is an economically important crop providing bast fibres for the textile and biocomposite sector. Length is a fundamental characteristic determining the properties of bast fibres. Aquaporins, channel-forming proteins facilitating the passage of water, urea, as well as elements such as boron and silicon, are known to play a role in the control of fibre length in other species, like cotton.

Aluminium in human brain tissue: how much is too much?

A burgeoning body of research confirms and affirms the presence of aluminium in human brain tissue. Recently, the first data on aluminium content of brain tissue from donors with diagnoses of familial Alzheimer's disease, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy have been published. Quantitative data are supported by aluminium-specific fluorescence microscopy identifying the locations of aluminium in human brain tissue.

Unequivocal imaging of aluminium in human cells and tissues by an improved method using morin.

Aluminium is biologically reactive and its ability to potentiate the immune response has driven its inclusion in both veterinary and human vaccines. Consequently, the need for unequivocal visualisation of aluminium in vivo has created a focused research effort to establish fluorescent molecular probes for this purpose. The most commonly used direct fluorescent labels for the detection of aluminium are morin (2',3,4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone) and lumogallion [4-chloro-3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenylazo)-2-hydroxybenzene-1-sulphonic acid].

The size of micro-crystalline tyrosine (MCT®) influences its recognition and uptake by THP-1 macrophages .

The physicochemical hallmarks of particulate immunopotentiators play a pivotal role with regards to their adjuvanticity . These properties have not been fully characterised in the case of MCT®, an amino acid-based adjuvant used as an alternative to aluminium salts in subcutaneous allergy immunotherapy (SCIT). This study presents a full characterisation of MCT® and in a preliminary capacity reveals how parameters, specifically particle size, might influence the recognition of MCT® by antigen presenting cells (APCs) .