engleski

Oxidative status of human peripheral blood lymphocytes after organochlorine pesticide exposure

Since discovery of its insecticide properties, DDT has become one of the most popular pesticides. In the period from 1940s to 1970s, 2 million tons of DDT’s active ingredient was produced. Low doses of DDT and its metabolites DDE and DDD can be found in the environment even 40 years after its global use. Many researchers have reported health effects induced by this pesticide and/or its metabolites, but a few have tested its low-dose effects. The levels of genome damage induced by low doses of p, p’-DDT, p, p’-DDE, and p, p’-DDD (0.1, 4.1, and 3.9 μg/mL respectively) were studied in human peripheral blood lymphocytes using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay and the alkaline comet assay. Higher frequency of micronuclei, nuclear buds, nucleoplasmic bridges, and tail intensity clearly demonstrate genotoxic effect after 6 h exposure period. In order to detect oxidative DNA damage the Fpg-modified comet assay was used and the results after 24-hour-exposure to low doses of p, p’-DDT, p, p’-DDE and p, p’-DDD show no oxidative DNA damage. Our findings suggest that even at low environmental concentrations, these pesticides induce cytogenetic damage to human peripheral blood lymphocytes, although oxidative stress is not mechanism of causing DNA damage.

DDT; DDE; DDD; Alkaline comet assay; Fpg-modified comet assay; Micronucleus assay

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