Effect of aluminum (Al) speciation on erythrocytic antioxidant defense process: Correlations between lipid membrane peroxidation and morphological characteristics

Al contamination becomes a growing problem in human society. Accumulation of Al in blood could destroy the structure and disorder function of erythrocyte, and finally cause blood diseases. In the present study, AlCl3 and Al(malt)3 are respectively used in the erythrocyte system, in order to investigate the comparative toxic effect on erythrocyte fragility, the influence on cellular biochemical components and lipid peroxidation level. We find that the osmotic fragility, the number of Heinz bodies, the content of MDA and advanced oxidation protein product of the AlCl3 treated erythrocytes were higher than the Al(malt)3 treated erythrocytes at the same concentrations of Al(Ⅲ). The morphological and membrane protein changes of the AlCl3 treated group show superior to the Al(malt)3 treated group. In summary, we conclude that the comparative effect on the erythrocyte between organic aluminum and inorganic aluminum is significantly different, and the prime comparative difference between the toxic effects of both the compounds is oxidative stress. Further research should focus on in vivo experiments to confirm the differential toxicity and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying Al-induced erythrocyte toxicity in order to prevent hematological disorders.