title: Dietary high cholesterol and trace metals in the drinking water increase levels of ABCA1 in the rabbit hippocampus and temporal cortex.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cholesterol-fed rabbits have been documented to show increased amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in the brain that can be exacerbated by the quality of drinking water especially if rabbits drink tap water or distilled water containing copper. One mechanism of cholesterol and Aβ clearance may be through the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Using an ABCA1 antibody, we determined the number of ABCA1-immunopositive neurons in three areas of rabbit brain as a function of feeding 2% cholesterol and providing tap water, distilled water, or distilled water to which aluminum, copper, or zinc was added.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of neurons with ABCA1 immunoreactivity was increased significantly as a result of dietary cholesterol in the rabbit hippocampus and inferior and superior temporal cortex. The number of neurons with ABCA1 immunoreactivity was further increased in all three areas as a result of cholesterol-fed rabbits drinking tap water or distilled water with copper. Finally, cholesterol-fed rabbits that drank distilled water with aluminum also showed an increased number of ABCA1-immunopositive neurons in inferior and superior temporal cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that ABCA1 levels increase in parallel with previously documented increases in Aβ levels as a result of high dietary cholesterol and copper in the drinking water. Addition of aluminum to distilled water may have a similar effect in the temporal cortex. ABCA1 has been proposed as a means of clearing Aβ from the brain and manipulations that increase Aβ also result in an increase of clearance machinery.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University and Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Morgantown, WV, USA.
authors.forename: Bernard G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Schreurs
authors.affiliation: Banner Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: D Larry
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sparks
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000378:metabolism*; D000535:Aluminum / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003300:Copper / Q000008:administration & dosage; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000737:chemistry*; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D060766:Drinking Water; D003300:Copper; D000535:Aluminum; D015032:Zinc
keywords: ATP-binding cassette transporter A1; Aluminum; cholesterol-fed rabbit; copper; zinc