Involvement of altered cytoskeletal protein phosphorylation in aluminum-induced CNS dysfunction

In the present investigation, we have studied the effects of aluminum (10 mg/kg of body weight per day, i.p.) and desferrioxamine (6 mg/kg of body weight per day, i.p.) alone and in combination for 4 weeks on the regulation of phosphorylation of neuronal proteins. A marked decrease in the biological activity of calmodulin was observed after aluminum treatment; however, in combination with desferrioxamine, a reversal in the levels of calmodulin, in terms of nmol cAMP hydrolyzed/min/mg protein, was observed. Exogenous addition of calmodulin had an inhibitory effect on calmodulin-mediated synaptosomal protein phosphorylation in aluminum-exposed animals. An almost complete reversal of this inhibition was observed following coexposure to aluminum and desferrioxamine. Cyclic AMP-dependent synaptosomal protein phosphorylation was, however, stimulated following aluminum exposure. Coadministration of desferrioxamine along with aluminum was found to mitigate the neurotoxic effect of aluminum.