Aluminium triggers necrosis and apoptosis in V79 cells

The aim of this work was to examine the induction of cell death by aluminium (Al) at low pH, where the toxic cation Al3+ has maximum activity. Chinese hamster V79 fibroblasts were used as a model to study the toxic effects of different Al concentrations under optimal conditions for Al3+ activity (pH 4.5). Al3+ was detected by 8-hydroxyquinoline staining and cell death was assessed by image analysis, TUNEL assay and annexin-V labelling. Intracellular Al3+ deposits occurred mainly in the cytoplasm and within the nucleus. Al3+ altered the nuclear morphology, with chromatin condensation and loss being observed in Al3+-treated cells. Necrosis was detected with 10-5- 10-3 M AlCl3 and apoptosis was observed only at 10 -8-10-5 M AlCl3. Our results show that Al 3+ induces cell death through a mechanism which could determine whether necrosis or apoptosis would be triggered.