Occupational and environmental exposure to pesticides and cytokine pathways in chronic diseases (Review).
Pesticides can exert numerous effects on human health as a consequence of both environmental and occupational exposures. The available knowledge base suggests that exposure to pesticides may result in detrimental reproductive changes, neurological dysfunction and several chronic disorders, which are defined by slow evolution and long-term duration. Moreover, an ever increasing amount of data have identified an association between exposure to pesticides and the harmful effects on the immune system. The real impact of alterations in humoral cytokine levels on human health, in particular in the case of chronic diseases, is still unclear. To date, studies have suggested that although exposure to pesticides can affect the immune system functionally, the development of immune disorders depends on the dose and duration of exposure to pesticides. However, many of the respective studies exhibit limitations, such as a lack of information on exposure levels, differences in the pesticide administration procedures, difficulty in characterizing a prognostic significance to the weak modifications often observed and the interpretation of obtained results. The main challenge is not just to understand the role of individual pesticides and their combinations, but also to determine the manner and the duration of exposure, as the toxic effects on the immune system cannot be separated from these considerations. There is a clear need for more well‑designed and standardized epidemiological and experimental studies to recognize the exact association between exposure levels and toxic effects and to identify useful biomarkers of exposure. This review focuses on and critically discusses the immunotoxicity of pesticides and the impact of cytokine levels on health, focusing on the development of several chronic diseases.
Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
Silvia
S
Gangemi
Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 200349 Craiova, Romania.
Eliza
E
Gofita
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
Chiara
C
Costa
Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
Michele
M
Teodoro
Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
Giusi
G
Briguglio
Laboratory of Anatomy‑Histology‑Embryology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece.
Dragana
D
Nikitovic
Laboratory of Anatomy‑Histology‑Embryology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece.
George
G
Tzanakakis
Department of Forensic Sciences and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece.
Aristides M
AM
Tsatsakis
Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology, University of Basel, CH‑4055 Basel, Switzerland.
Martin F
MF
Wilks
Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece.
Demetrios A
DA
Spandidos
Department of Biomedical, Odontoiatric, Morphological and Functional Images, Occupational Medicine Section, 'Policlinico G. Martino' Hospital, University of Messina, I‑98125 Messina, Italy.
Concettina
C
Fenga
D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010575:Pesticides / Q000506:poisoning*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D016207:Cytokines; D010575:Pesticides