title: Cypermethrin-induced DNA damage in organs and tissues of the mouse: evidence from the comet assay.
abstract: Cypermethrin is the most widely used Type II pyrethroid pesticide because of its high effectiveness against target species and its low mammalian toxicity reported so far. It is a fast-acting neurotoxin and is known to cause free radical-mediated tissue damage. The present study investigates the genotoxic effects of cypermethrin in multiple organs (brain, kidney, liver, spleen) and tissues (bone marrow, lymphocytes) of the mouse, using the alkaline comet assay. Male Swiss albino mice were given 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200 mg/kg BW of cypermethrin intraperitoneally, daily for 5 consecutive days. A statistically significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent increase in DNA damage was observed in all the organs assessed, as evident from the comet-assay parameters, viz., Olive tail moment (OTM; arbitrary unit), tail DNA (%) and tail length (microm). Brain showed maximum DNA damage followed by spleen>kidney>bone marrow>liver>lymphocytes, as evident by the OTM. Our data demonstrate that cypermethrin induces systemic genotoxicity in mammals as it causes DNA damage in vital organs like brain, liver, kidney, apart from that in the hematopoietic system.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Toxicology Section, Predictive Toxicology Group, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, PO Box 80, M.G. Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Sushila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Alok K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Mahima
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bajpayee
authors.forename: Devendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parmar
authors.forename: Alok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhawan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow; D001921:Brain; D002452:Cell Count; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D020552:Comet Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D004249:DNA Damage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007306:Insecticides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D007668:Kidney; D008099:Liver; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011722:Pyrethrins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D013154:Spleen; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D011722:Pyrethrins; C017160:cypermethrin