ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Imaging
Sec. Image Retrieval and Analysis
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in 3D Imaging and Machine Learning for Bone StudiesView all articles
Aluminum impairs cellular ultrastructure and bone microarchitecture in newborn rats
Provisionally accepted
Mara Rubia Marques1*
Anderson Camargo Moreira2
Iara Frangiotti Mantovani3Pedro Vale de Azevedo Brito4Isabela Cristina Gomes de Souza Nascimento1Celso Peres Fernandes2
Fernanda Cristina Alcantara dos Santos5- 1Federal University of Goiás, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, Goiânia, Brazil
- 2Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil
- 3Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
- 4Universidade Federal de Goias Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas, Goiânia, Brazil
- 5Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
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Modern lifestyle is strongly marked by the presence of aluminum (Al) in practically all human consumer products. Bone tissue is one of the main sites of Al accumulation, and its toxic effects are well known in individuals subjected to chronic exposure. However, there is still a gap in knowledge regarding the effects of Al on bone formation in the neonatal period. This study evaluated the effect of Al ingestion on rat tibiae during the neonatal period. Wistar rats were divided into control and Al groups. The Al group received AlCl3 (2.02mg/kg/day) via gavage for fifteen days, then, the right tibiae were used to evaluate osteoblast and osteocyte ultrastructure and bone microarchitecture using transmission electron microscopy and computed X-ray microtomography, respectively. Al promoted swelling and altered mitochondrial crests in osteoblasts. Osteocytes showed accumulation of electron-dense lysosomes and absence of the osmiophilic lamina in the lacunae, showing characteristics similar to osteocytic osteolysis. Cortical Thickness (Ct.Th), Trabecular thickness (Tb.th) and trabecular number (Tb.N) decreased whilst trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp) increased. These results suggest that Al intake during the neonatal period may affect the function of osteoblasts and osteocytes besides compromising bone formation.
Keywords: Aluminum, Bone, Met, micro-CT, Mitochondria, Newborn, osteoblast, Osteocyte
Received: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 27 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Marques, Moreira, Mantovani, Brito, Nascimento, Fernandes and dos Santos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mara Rubia Marques
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