Authors
Giulia De Negri Atanasio, Lorenzo Dondero, Francesca Tardanico, Giorgia Allaria, Erica Lertora, Giacomo Rosa, Chiara Barisione, Caterina Ivaldo, Francesca Rispo, Tommaso Filippini, Ilaria Demori, Sara Ferrando, Maria Cristina Gagliani, Katia Cortese, Mario Passalacqua, Jan Markus, Silvia Letasiova, Elena Grasselli
Published in
Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology. Volume 478. Issue 7. Jul 09, 2026. Epub Jul 09, 2026.
Abstract
Aluminum (Al³⁺) is a widespread environmental metal with potential effects on the intestinal epithelium. In this study, we evaluated the impact of dietary concentrations of aluminum on barrier integrity, histological organization, and gene expression in a 3D human intestinal tissue model. Tissues were exposed to increasing concentrations of aluminum (0, 5, 20, and 50 ppm) for 12 days to mimic environmental chronic exposure through ingestion. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements revealed a significant decrease only at the highest dose (50 ppm) on day 12, indicating a damage to the epithelial permeability. This was supported by a marked downregulation of OCLN and CLDN-5 expression, key genes involved in tight junction integrity. Aluminum permeation across the tissue was confirmed via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), indicating dose-dependent penetration. Furthermore, gene expression analysis showed significant upregulation of MT-1E and MT-2 A (markers of cellular response to metal exposure) while MT-1 A remained unchanged. The present data demonstrate that repeated exposure to 50 ppm of Al3+ impacts intestinal barrier function and alters the tissue organization in the human intestinal epithelium.
PMID:
42420558
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.
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