Aluminium(III) in experimental cell pathology

Controversy over the relevance of aluminium to certain human encephalopathies has emphasized the importance of in vivo and in vitro models as tools for shedding light on the biological and molecular aspects of the aluminium toxicity. The search for an experimental model in animals or in cultured cells able to reproduce specific pathological human conditions may prove to be an unattainable aim; nevertheless, in vivo and in vitro models should be actively sought and the pathological changes induced in experimental animals should always be evaluated at the cellular level, just as for changes produced directly in cultured cells. These toxicological aspects are outlined with particular emphasis on the role played by the molecular form of aluminium (metal speciation) in determining the quality and intensity of the metal's biological effects.