Aluminum-Induced Neural Cell Death.

Abstract

Aluminum (Al), an abundant element in the earth's crust, is well-known for its neurotoxicity. Nonetheless, its causal role in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly in Alzheimer's disease (AD), is still in debate. Ample studies have shown that neural cell death and cognitive deficits induced by Al are similar to those in AD. In the present chapter, we demonstrate separately the Al-induced cell death in neuron, neuroglia cells, and co-cultured neural cells from newborn rats to illustrate the neurotoxic effects. Moreover, we not only examine the classic cell death pathways of apoptosis and necrosis but also compare with autophagy and a newly discovered cell death pathway known as necroptosis, which demonstrates its crucial roles in Al-induced neural cell death. Finally, we verify the cell death pathways attributed to the neural cell death in Al-induced AD-like mice model. The series research could provide an underlined mechanism and potential therapeutic agents to Al-induced neurodegenerative diseases.