Aluminum Distribution in Rat Liver Sub-Cellular Fractions in Relation to Neurological Disease in Hemodialyzed Patients

The distribution of aluminum within the sub-cellular fractions of rat liver was investigated. The majority of the aluminum was bound to nuclei and mitochondria. The aluminum content of nuclei and mitochondria was 5.2 and 4.9 g per gram protein respectively. Lysosomes, cytosol and microsomes contained 3.75, 1.12 and 0.86 g aluminum per gram protein, respectively. In the nuclei the majority of aluminum was in the non-DNA compartment of nucleoprotein and SDS-PAGE showed that histones could bind aluminum. The relationship between aluminum toxicity and neurological disorders in chronic renal failure maintained on hemodialysis has been discussed.