title: Effect of pesticides on cell survival in liver and brain rat tissues.
abstract: Pesticides are the main environmental factor associated with the etiology of human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that the treatment of rats with low doses of dimethoate, zineb or glyphosate alone or in combination induces oxidative stress (OS) in liver and brain. The aim of the present work was to investigate if the pesticide-induced OS was able to affect brain and liver cell survival. The treatment of Wistar rats with the pesticides (i.p. 1/250 LD50, three times a week for 5 weeks) caused loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and cardiolipin content, especially in substantia nigra (SN), with a concomitant increase of fatty acid peroxidation. The activation of calpain apoptotic cascade (instead of the caspase-dependent pathway) would be responsible for the DNA fragmentation pattern observed. Thus, these results may contribute to understand the effect(s) of chronic and simultaneous exposure to pesticides on cell survival.
authors.affiliation: INIBIOLP (Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata), CCT La Plata, CONICET-UNLP, Cátedra de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 60 y 120 (1900) La Plata, Argentina. camarra@atlas.med.unlp.edu.ar
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Astiz
authors.forename: María J T
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: de Alaniz
authors.forename: Carlos Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Marra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002308:Cardiolipins / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D002308:Cardiolipins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010575:Pesticides