title: Aluminum-induced chronic myelopathy in rabbits.
abstract: Young adult New Zealand white rabbits, inoculated intracisternally once monthly with 100 micrograms AlCl3, developed progressive hyperreflexia, hypertonia, gait impairment, weight loss, muscle wasting and abnormal righting reflexes over the course of 8 months. No overt encephalopathic features were present. In spinal motor neuron perikarya, dendrites and axonal processes, argentophilic globular inclusions were extensive. Additionally, neurofibrillary tangle-like argentophilic inclusions were consistently present in the gigantocellularis, reticularis, raphe and trapezoid nuclei, but rarely present in the dorsal and ventral subiculum, parasubiculum and anterior thalamus, and never found in the cerebral cortex, substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, or cerebellum. All neuronal inclusions were immunoreactive with monoclonal antibodies recognizing phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated high and intermediate weight neurofilament proteins (SMI 31, SMI 32). Also, some spinal motor neuron inclusions were immunoreactive with a monoclonal antibody recognizing an 'age-related' phosphorylation state of neurofilament (SMI 34). Ultrastructurally, the inclusions consisted of straight or interwoven skeins of 10 nm filaments. This study demonstrates unique variability in the phosphorylation state of aluminum-induced neurofilamentous inclusions in a predominantly motor system degeneration induced by chronic low dose AlCl3.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Strong
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wakayama
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Garruto
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D011817:Rabbits; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D000535:Aluminum