Abstract:

Objective     To observe the effect of chronic aluminum toxicity on glial cells in the hippocampal CA3 area of rats, and to investigate the neurotoxicity of aluminum. Methods     60 4-5-month old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the aluminum exposed group and the normal control group, 15 males and 15 females in each group. After paraffin section and location with HE staining, immunohistochemistry staining of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP), CD11b and galactose cerebroside(GC) was done. The GFAP, CD11b- and GC-positive cells in the hippocampal CA3 area were quantitatively analyzed by the cell morphometric technique. The ultrastructure of neuroglial cells was observed by an electron microscopy. Results      Compared with the normal control group, numbers and average optical densities of GFAP and CD11bpositive cells in the hippocampal CA3 area were significantly increased, while the number and average optical density of GC-positive cells were significantly decreased in the aluminum exposed group. Under an electron microscope, glial cells swelled, the number of mitochondria decreased, crista broke and glial filaments were vague in the aluminum exposed group. Conclusion      Chronic aluminum toxicity can increase numbers of astrocytes and microglia, decrease the number of oligodendrocytes in the hippocampal CA3 area, and change the ultrastructure of glial cells.

Key words: Aluminum poisoning; Hippocampus; Neuroglial cells