title: Effects of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-oxon on the dynamics and movement of mitochondria in rat cortical neurons.
abstract: Organophosphate (OP)-based pesticides have been used extensively for decades, and as a result, they have become almost ubiquitous in our environment. There is clinical and animal evidence to suggest that chronic exposures to OPs can lead to cognitive dysfunction and other neurological abnormalities, although the mechanism for these effects is unknown. We previously reported that repeated, subthreshold exposures (defined as doses not associated with signs of acute toxicity) to the commonly used OP chlorpyrifos (CPF) resulted in protracted impairments in the performance of attention and memory-related tasks in rodents as well as deficits in axonal transport ex vivo (in the sciatic nerve). Here, we investigated the effects of CPF and its active metabolite CPF oxon (CPO) on the dynamics and movement of mitochondria in rat primary cortical neurons using time-lapse imaging techniques. Exposure to CPF (1.0-20.0 μM) or CPO (5.0 nM-20.0 μM) for 1 or 24 h resulted in a concentration-dependent increase in mitochondrial length, a decrease in mitochondrial number (indicative of increased fusion events), and a decrease in their movement in axons. The changes occurred at concentrations of CPF and CPO that did not inhibit acetylcholinesterase activity (the commonly cited mechanism of acute OP toxicity), and they were not blocked by cholinergic receptor antagonists. Furthermore, the changes did not seem to be associated with direct (OP-related) effects on mitochondrial viability or function (i.e., mitochondrial membrane potential or ATP production). The results suggest that an underlying mechanism of organophosphate-based deficits in cognitive function might involve alterations in mitochondrial dynamics and/or their transport in axons.
authors.affiliation: Program in Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, Augusta, Georgia 30912-2450, USA.
authors.forename: Mary-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Middlemore-Risher
authors.forename: Bao-Ling
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: Nevin A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Alvin V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Terry
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004390:Chlorpyrifos / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000633:toxicity*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity*; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000378:metabolism*; D013481:Superoxides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D007306:Insecticides; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D013481:Superoxides; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; C548246:Ache protein, rat; D004390:Chlorpyrifos