Background & Aims: Aluminum has many harmful effects on biochemical and physiological structures even behavioral disorders.

 Materials & Methods: The rabbits were classified into treatment and control groups. 12.5mg/kg aluminum chloride was injected to treatment group animals and simultaneously the same dose of deionized water to control group animals in anesthesia state for 7 weeks, intraperitoneally. Tissue preparation for ultrastructural, morphologic and morphometric studies was carried out on the basis of standard methods. The microscopic photomicrographs were studied morphologically and morphometrically. Finally the morphometric results were analyzed by statistical tests.

  Results: Tubular dilation, severe lymphocytic infiltration and fibrotic changes of renal tissue (morphologically) significant damage in glomerular basement membrane, thickness increase of glomerular basement membrane and sedimentation of electron dense particles in it, decrease of microvilli and cytoplasmic vacuolation of proximal tubular cells (ultrastucturally) significant increase of average diameter of renal tissue components (p<0.05) and average thickness of glomerular basement membrane components (p<0.05) (morphometrically) were obtained.

 Conclusion: Previous studies have revealed the effect of aluminum on different cellular organelles of tissues was distinct. Present study showed aluminum-induced changes was in glomerular basement membrane components, microvilli, nuclear membrane, mitochondria and tubular-cells cytoplasm. It seems these changes are the results of free radicals production, cell membrane lipoperoxidation and even nuclear DNA changes.

  SOURCE : URMIA MED J 2012: 23(1): 99 ISSN: 1027-3727