GENETIC INFLUENCES ON TISSUE DEPOSITION OF ALUMINUM IN MICE

Aluminum is a known neurotoxin and has been suggested to play a role i n the development of Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type. The rela tionship between aluminum exposure and senile dementia cannot be a sim ple one, however, as not all exposure results in neurotoxic manifestat ions. To determine if there are genetic differences in susceptibility to moderate aluminum exposure, 16 mice of five inbred strains were div ided into two groups. The control group was fed a purified diet contai ning all known requirements for mice; the experimental group was fed t he same diet supplemented with 260 mg Al/kg diet for 28 d. Analysis of brains, livers, and tibias for aluminum concentrations revealed strai n differences in response to dietary treatment. The most notable resul ts occurred in the DBA/2 and C3H/2 strains, with brain aluminum levels higher in the experimental groups. In contrast, A/J, BALB/c, and C57B L/6 strains showed no differences in brain aluminum in response to die tary treatment. These findings suggest that there are genetic differen ces in the permeability of the blood brain barrier and lend support to the hypothesis that variability in aluminum toxicity may be, in part, genetically determined.