INTERACTION OF ALUMINUM(III) WITH PHOSPHATE-BINDING SITES - BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS AND IMPLICATIONS

The occurrence of abnormal levels of Al(III) connected with human path ologies and with encephalopathies experimentally induced in experiment al animals is reviewed and critically evaluated in molecular terms. It is assumed that phosphate-bearing biomolecules are elected targets fo r the biochemical action of Al(III) and the reactivity of the metal ce ntre towards both inorganic phosphates and nucleotides, diphosphoglyce rate, phosphorylated proteins, phospholipids and myo-inositol-phosphat es is thoroughly reviewed. All these data are evaluated in the right o f the potential relevance of higher Al(III) levels to the etiopatholog y of dialysis dementia and of Alzheimer's disease.