The effect of desferrioxamine on concentration and distribution of aluminum in bone

The effect of desferrioxamine on concentration and distribution of aluminum in bone. Aluminum (Al) loaded rats were injected chronically with either desferrioxamine (DFO) or saline. Six rats of each treatment group were sacrificed before and after one, three, and nine months of treatment for determination of tissue and serum Al, and for histological localization of bone Al. Urinary Al was measured during one week before sacrifice. Al loading caused significant elevations of bone (136.2±22.0 µg/g) and liver (114.4µ41.9 µg/g) aluminum. Serum Al in DFO-treated animals was not different from their controls (216.4±80.5 and 226.9±42.9 µg/liter after one month; 151.0±20.8 and 138.0±63.9 µg/liter after three months; 72.1±40.7 and 61.6±14.2 µg/liter after nine months in control and DFO-treated animals respectively). Urinary Al excretion in the DFO-treated group was increased at all times as compared to the control rats. A decrease of muscle Al occurred after one month of DFO treatment, but no significant differences of liver and bone Al could be shown between DFO-treated rats and their controls. Al decreased to a comparable degree in all tissues of both DFO and control rats after nine months of treatment Histomorphometric examination of the bones showed that after one and three months of treatment, significantly less Al was localized at the calcification front of DFO-treated rats compared to their controls (75.6±6.9% and 53.4±20.9% after one month; 52.3±10.2% and 34.8±10.6% after three months in control and DFO rats respectively). These results suggest that in rats, DFO: a) promotes an increase of urinary Al excretion; b) does not influence total Al bone content; and c) decreases the Al localized at the calcification front. These data may apply only to animals with intact renal function