Prenatal maternal organophosphorus pesticide exposures, paraoxonase 1, and childhood adiposity in the Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Study

Acephate Exposure Induces Transgenerational Ovarian Developmental Toxicity by Altering the Expression of Follicular Growth Markers in Female Rats

Acephate is an organophosphate foliar and soil insecticide that is used worldwide. In this study, the transgenerational ovarian developmental toxicity caused by acephate, along with its in utero reprogramming mechanisms, were explored. Thirty female virgin Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to three groups: one control group and two acephate treatment groups. The treatment groups received daily low or high doses of acephate (34.2 mg/kg or 68.5 mg/kg body weight, respectively) from gestational day 6 until spontaneous labor, resulting in F1 offspring. At 28 days, a subgroup of F1 females were euthanized. The ovaries were extracted, thoroughly cleaned, and weighed before being fixed for further analysis. The remaining F1 females were mated with normal males to produce the F2 generation. The F1 female offspring presented reduced fertility and body weight, whereas the ovarian weight index and sex ratio increased in a dose-dependent manner. Structural analysis revealed altered follicular abnormalities with ovarian cells displaying pyknotic nuclei. Additionally, the gene and protein expression of Cyp19 decreased, whereas that of Gdf-9 increased in the high-dose treatment group (68.5 mg/kg). We also observed significantly increased expression levels of ovarian estrogen receptor 1 (Esr1) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf1), whereas Insl3 expression was significantly decreased. The F2 female offspring presented reproductive phenotype alterations similar to those of F1 females including decreased fertility, reduced Cyp19 gene and protein expression, and structural ovarian abnormalities similar to those of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In conclusion, acephate induced ovarian developmental toxicity across two generations of rats, which may be linked to changes in the ovarian Cyp19, Gdf9, Insl3, and Igf1 levels.

The Effect of Maternal Diet and Lifestyle on the Risk of Childhood Obesity

Background/Objectives: Childhood obesity is a global health problem that affects at least 41 million children under the age of five. Increased BMI in children is associated with serious long-term health consequences, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and psychological problems, including depression and low self-esteem. Although the etiology of obesity is complex, research suggests that the diet and lifestyle of pregnant women play a key role in shaping metabolic and epigenetic changes that can increase the risk of obesity in their children. Excessive gestational weight gain, unhealthy dietary patterns (including the Western diet), and pregnancy complications (such as gestational diabetes) are some of the modifiable factors that contribute to childhood obesity. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the most important and recent information on the impact of the diet and lifestyle of pregnant women on the risk of childhood obesity. Methods: This article is a narrative review that aims to summarize the available literature on the impact of pregnant women's diet and lifestyle on the risk of obesity in their offspring, with a focus on metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms. Results/Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that a pregnant woman's lifestyle and diet can significantly contribute to lowering the risk of obesity in their offspring. However, further high-quality research is needed to understand better the metabolic and epigenetic relationships concerning maternal factors that predispose offspring to obesity.

Exploring the role of genetic variability and exposure to bisphenols and parabens on excess body weight in Spanish children

Gene-environment interaction studies are emerging as a promising tool to shed light on the reasons for the rapid increase in excess body weight (overweight and obesity). We aimed to investigate the influence of several polymorphisms on excess weight in Spanish children according to a short- and long-term exposure to bisphenols and parabens, combining individual approach with the joint effect of them. This case-control study included 144 controls and 98 cases children aged 3-12 years. Thirty SNPs in genes involved in obesity-related pathways, xenobiotic metabolism and hormone systems were genotyped using the GSA microchip technology and qPCRs with Taqman® probes. Levels of bisphenols and parabens in urine and hair were used to assess short- and long-term exposure, respectively, via UHPLC-MS/MS system. LEPR rs9436303 was identified as a relevant risk variant for excess weight (ORDom:AAvsAG+GG=2.65, p<0.001), and this effect persisted across exposure-stratified models. For long-term exposure, GPX1 rs1050450 was associated with increased excess weight at low single paraben exposure (ORGvsA=2.00, p=0.028, p-interaction=0.016), whereas LEPR rs1137101 exhibited a protective function at high co-exposure (ORDom:AAvsAG+GG=0.17, p=0.007, p-interaction=0.043). ESR2 rs3020450 (ORDom:GGvsAG+AA=5.17, p=0.020, p-interaction=0.028) and CYP2C19 rs4244285 (ORDom:GGvsAG+AA=3.54, p=0.039, p-interaction=0.285) were identified as predisposing variants at low and high co-exposure, respectively. In short-term exposure, higher odds were observed for INSIG2 rs7566605 at high bisphenol exposure (ORCvsG=2.97, p=0.035, p-interaction=0.017) and for GSTP1 rs1695 at low levels (ORDom:AAvsAG+GG=5.38, p=0.016, p-interaction=0.016). At low and medium co-exposure, SH2B1 rs7498665 (ORAvsG=0.17, p=0.015, p-interaction=0.085) and MC4R rs17782313 (ORAvsG=0.10, p=0.023, p-interaction=0.045) displayed a protective effect, whereas ESR2 rs3020450 maintained its contributing role (ORGvsA=3.12, p=0.030, p-interaction=0.010). Our findings demonstrate for the first time that understanding the genetic variation in excess weight and how the level of exposure to bisphenols and parabens might interact with it, is crucial for a more in-depth comprehension of the complex polygenic and multifactorial aetiology of overweight and obesity.

Fetal Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Child Adiposity Measures at 10 Years of Age in the General Dutch Population

BACKGROUND

Fetal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides might lead to fetal metabolic adaptations, predisposing individuals to adverse metabolic profiles in later life.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the association of maternal urinary OP pesticide metabolite concentrations in pregnancy with offspring body mass index (BMI) and fat measures at 10 years of age.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2006, we included 642 mother-child pairs from the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We measured maternal urinary concentrations of OP pesticide metabolites, namely, dialkyl phosphates, including three dimethyl and three diethyl phosphates in early-, mid- and late-pregnancy. At 10 years of age, child total and regional body fat and lean mass were measured through dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and abdominal and organ fat through magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

Higher maternal urinary pregnancy-average or trimester-specific dialkyl, dimethyl, or diethyl phosphate concentrations were not associated with childhood BMI and the risk of overweight. In addition, we did not observe any association of dialkyl, dimethyl, or diethyl phosphate concentrations with total and regional body fat, abdominal visceral fat, liver fat, or pericardial fat at child age of 10 y.

CONCLUSION

We observed no associations of maternal urinary dialkyl concentrations during pregnancy with childhood adiposity measures at 10 years of age. Whether these associations develop at older ages should be further studied. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12267.

Maternal Exposure to Acephate Caused Nephrotoxicity in Adult Offspring Rats Mediated by Excessive Autophagy Activation, Oxidative Stress Induction, and Altered Epithelial Sodium Channel and Na+/K+-ATPase Gene Expression

This study examined how maternal exposure to acephate-an organophosphate-based insecticide-affected the renal development in rat offspring during adulthood. Virgin female Wistar rats were randomly allocated to three groups: group 1 (control) received sterile water; groups 2 and 3 were intragastrically exposed to low (14 mg/kg) and high (28 mg/kg) doses of acephate from day 6 of pregnancy until delivery, respectively. Further, the offspring of the adult female rats were euthanized in postnatal week 8. Compared with the controls, the adult rat offspring with exposure to low and high doses of acephate exhibited elevated plasma creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels. Additionally, immunofluorescence analysis revealed the upregulation of autophagic marker genes (Beclin-1 and LC-3) in the acephate-treated rat offspring, thereby suggesting the induction of an autophagic mechanism. Notably, the increased malondialdehyde level, decreased glutathione level, and decreased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities confirmed the ability of acephate to induce oxidative stress and apoptosis in the kidneys of the rat offspring. This may explain the renal histopathological injury detected using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Furthermore, a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that the mRNA expression levels of the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) genes were significantly higher in the kidney of female offspring than that of controls owing to acephate toxicity. However, there was no significant effect of acephate on the expression of NHE3 in the treatment group compared with the control group. Overall, the present findings suggest that oxidative stress caused by prenatal exposure to acephate causes nephrotoxicity and histopathological alterations in adult rat offspring, likely by actions on renal ENaC and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase genes as well as the autophagic markers Beclin-1 and LC-3.

Determinants of organophosphorus pesticide urinary metabolite levels in pregnant women from the CHAMACOS cohort

Organophosphosphorus pesticides (OPs) are widely used as insecticides in agriculture. Human exposure to OPs has been linked to adverse effects including poorer child neurodevelopment, reduced birth weight, altered serum hormone levels, and reduced semen quality. We measured six OP dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites [three dimethyl alkylphosphates (DMs) and three diethyl alkylphosphates (DEs)] in urine samples collected two times during pregnancy (~13 and ~26 weeks gestation) from 594 women participating in the CHAMACOS birth cohort study and resided in an agricultural community in the United States (U.S.) between 1999 and 2000. Previous studies have shown these women have higher OP exposures compared with the general U.S. population. We examined bivariate associations between prenatal DAP metabolite levels and exposure determinants such as age, season, years living in the US, housing characteristics, fruit and vegetable consumption, occupation and residential proximity to agricultural fields. Final multivariable models indicated that season of urine collection was significantly associated (p < 0.01) with specific gravity-adjusted DM, DE and total DAP metabolites; samples collected in fall and winter had higher concentrations than those collected in spring-summer. Specific gravity-adjusted levels of DM and total DAP metabolites were significantly higher in women who had resided in the U.S. for 5 years or less (p < 0.05). Levels of DM metabolites also increased with daily fruit and vegetable servings (p < 0.01), and levels of DE metabolites were higher in residences with poorer housekeeping quality (p < 0.01) and in mothers that worked in agriculture (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that there are multiple determinants of OP exposure in pregnant women.

Effect of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in obesity and neurodevelopment: The genetic and microbiota link

Current evidence highlights the importance of the genetic component in obesity and neurodevelopmental disorders (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID)), given that these diseases have reported an elevated heritability. Additionally, environmental stressors, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been classified as obesogens, neuroendocrine disruptors, and microbiota disrupting chemicals (MDCs). For this reason, the importance of this work lies in examining two possible biological mechanistic pathways linking obesity and neurodevelopmental/behavioural disorders: EDCs - gene and EDCs - microbiota interactions. First, we summarise the shared mechanisms of action of EDCs and the common genetic profile in the bidirectional link between obesity and neurodevelopment. In relation to interaction models, evidence from the reviewed studies reveals significant interactions between pesticides/heavy metals and gene polymorphisms of detoxifying and neurotransmission systems and metal homeostasis on cognitive development, ASD and ADHD symptomatology. Nonetheless, available literature about obesity is quite limited. Importantly, EDCs have been found to induce gut microbiota changes through gut-brain-microbiota axis conferring susceptibility to obesity and neurodevelopmental disorders. In view of the lack of studies assessing the impact of EDCs - gene interactions and EDCs - mediated dysbiosis jointly in obesity and neurodevelopment, we support considering genetics, EDCs exposure, and microbiota as interactive factors rather than individual contributors to the risk for developing obesity and neurodevelopmental disabilities at the same time.

Association between exposure to organophosphorus pesticides and the risk of diabetes among US Adults: Cross-sectional findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

OBJECTIVE

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) are commonly used pesticides across the world, however there is little epidemiological evidence linking their exposure to diabetes. Hence, this study aimed at investigating the effect of OPP exposure on the prevalence of diabetes in American adults.

METHODS

Adults (≥20 years old) were eligible for this study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Multivariate logistic regression model was employed to explore the associations of six main urinary OPPs metabolites with diabetes. Subgroup analyses were performed by age and gender. Combined effect of OPPs metabolites on the overall association with diabetes was evaluated by weighted quantile sum regression (WQS). Furthermore, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model was implemented to explore joint effect of multiple OPPs metabolites on diabetes.

RESULTS

Ultimately, 6,593 adults were included in our analysis. Of them, 1,044 participants were determined as diabetes patients. The results of logistic regression shown that urinary OPPs metabolites concentrations, whether taken as continuous variables or quantiles, were in positive correlation with diabetes. Notably, the p for trend of diethylphosphate (DEP), a kind of OPPs metabolites, was less than 0.05 indicated that a linear trend may exist between levels of DEP and prevalence of diabetes among adults while this trend was not obversed in other OPPs metabolites. In the WQS model, combined exposure of OPPs metabolites had a significantly positive association with diabetes (OR: 1.057; 95% CI: 1.002, 1.114) and diethylphosphate (36.84%) made the largest contributor to the WQS index. The result of BKMR also suggested a positive trend of association between mixed OPPs metabolites and diabetes.

CONCLUSION

Our results add credibility to the argument that OPP exposure might trigger diabetes. Certainly, prospective data are required to corroborate our findings.

Characterizing the potentially neuronal acetylcholinesterase reactivity toward chiral pyraclofos: Enantioselective insights from spectroscopy, in silico docking, molecular dynamics simulation and per-residue energy decomposition studies

Chiral organophosphorus agents are distributed ubiquitously in the environment, but the neuroactivity of these asymmetric chemicals to humans remains uncertain. This scenario was to explore the stereoselective neurobiological response of human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to chiral pyraclofos at the enantiomeric scale, and then decipher the microscopic basis of enantioselective neurotoxicity of pyraclofos enantiomers. The results indicated that (R)-/(S)-pyraclofos can form the bioconjugates with AChE with a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1, but the neuronal affinity of (R)-pyraclofos (K = 6.31 × 10⁴ M^-1) with AChE was larger than that of (S)-pyraclofos (K = 1.86 × 10⁴ M^-1), and significant enantioselectivity was existed in the biochemical reaction. The modes of neurobiological action revealed that pyraclofos enantiomers were situated at the substrate binding domain, and the strength of the overall noncovalent bonds between (S)-pyraclofos and the residues was weaker than that of (R)-pyraclofos, resulting in the high inhibitory effect of (R)-pyraclofos toward the activity of AChE. Dynamic enantioselective biointeractions illustrated that the intervention of inherent conformational flexibility in the AChE-(R)-pyraclofos was greater than that of the AChE-(S)-pyraclofos, which arises from the big spatial displacement and the conformational flip of the binding domain composed of the residues Thr-64～Asn-89, Gly-122～Asp-134, and Thr-436～Tyr-449. Energy decomposition exhibited that the Gibbs free energies of the AChE-(R)-/(S)-pyraclofos were ΔG° = －37.4/－30.2 kJ mol^-1, respectively, and the disparity comes from the electrostatic energy during the stereoselective neurochemical reactions. Quantitative conformational analysis further confirmed the atomic-scale computational chemistry conclusions, and the perturbation of (S)-pyraclofos on the AChE's ordered conformation was lower than that of (R)-pyraclofos, which is germane to the interaction energies of the crucial residues, e.g. Tyr-124, Tyr-337, Asp-74, Trp-86, and Tyr-119. Evidently, this attempt will contribute mechanistic information to uncovering the neurobiological effects of chiral organophosphates on the body.

Intrinsic Clearance and Metabolism Pathway of Fosthiazate in Rat and Cock Liver Microsomes: From Chiral Assessment View

Chiral fosthiazate enters the organisms via environmental exposure and food web enrichment. Liver subcellular fractions of rats (RLM) and cocks (CLM) were prepared to explore the stereoselective metabolism of fosthiazate in vitro. The results indicated that fosthiazate exhibited different stereoselective metabolism behaviors in RLM and CLM. The clearance rate order of RLM to four fosthiazate stereoisomers was (1R,3R)-fosthiazate > (1S,3R)-fosthiazate > (1R,3S)-fosthiazate > (1S,3S)-fosthiazate. However, CLM showed a faster clearance rate to (1S,3S)-fosthiazate and (1S,3R)-fosthiazate than the other two stereoisomers. The molecular docking results revealed that the stereoselectivity was partially due to the stereospecific binding between fosthiazate stereoisomers and cytochrome P450 proteins. The main metabolism pathways of fosthiazate in RLM and CLM were oxidation and hydrolysis with five common metabolites including M299, M243, M227, M103, and M197 being identified by LC-TOF-MS/MS. The present study provides the accurate data on risk assessment of chiral fosthiazate.

Dichlorvos poisoning caused chicken cerebrum tissue damage and related apoptosis-related gene changes

Dichlorvos (DDVP) is an organophosphorus compound with insecticidal effects. Organophosphorus pesticides can easily enter humans or animals through various channels, causing cerebrum nerve cell damage. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether acute dichlorvos poisoning can cause cerebrum neurotoxic injury and change the expression of apoptosis-related genes in broilers, further clarify the neurotoxic mechanism after acute dichlorvos exposure, and provide a research basis for prevention, treatment and gene drug screening in the later stage. In this experiment, healthy yellow-feathered broilers were randomly assigned to the control group, the low-dose group (1.13 mg/kg) and the high-dose group (10.2 mg/kg) for modelling observation, and detection was conducted based on H&E (haematoxylin and eosin) staining, transmission electron microscopy analysis of tissue sections, immunofluorescence techniques and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that organophosphorus poisoning was accompanied by obvious neurological symptoms such as limb twitching and massive salivation. In addition, we observed that compared with the control group, the number of lysed nuclear neurons, deformed vascular sheaths, and glial cells and the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the poisoned group of broilers increased significantly, and the increase was more obvious in the low-dose group. However, cell apoptosis and mitochondrial structure dissolution were most pronounced in the high-dose group. Moreover, the qRT-PCR results also revealed significant changes in the expression of apoptosis-related genes. The expression levels of ACC, LKB1 and GPAT increased significantly, while the expression of HMGR, PPARα, CPT1 and AMPKα1 decreased significantly. In summary, these results indicated that dichlorvos may cause the lysis of cerebrum nerve cell nuclei, completely destroy the structure of mitochondria, change the expression of related apoptotic genes, enhance cell apoptosis, and cause neurogenic damage to the cerebrum. These research results offer a theoretical foundation for the prevention and treatment of acute organophosphate toxicosis.

Chronic oral exposure to pesticides and their consequences on metabolic regulation: role of the microbiota

Pesticides have long been used in agriculture and household treatments. Pesticide residues can be found in biological samples for both the agriculture workers through direct exposure but also to the general population by indirect exposure. There is also evidence of pesticide contamination in utero and trans-generational impacts. Whilst acute exposure to pesticides has long been associated with endocrine perturbations, chronic exposure with low doses also increases the prevalence of metabolic disorders such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. Dysmetabolism is a low-grade inflammation disorder and as such the microbiota plays a role in its etiology. It is therefore important to fully understand the role of microbiota on the genesis of subsequent health effects. The digestive tract and mostly microbiota are the first organs of contact after oral exposure. The objective of this review is thus to better understand mechanisms that link pesticide exposure, dysmetabolism and microbiota. One of the key outcomes on the microbiota is the reduced Bacteroidetes and increased Firmicutes phyla, reflecting both pesticide exposure and risk factors of dysmetabolism. Other bacterial genders and metabolic activities are also involved. As for most pathologies impacting microbiota (including inflammatory disorders), the role of prebiotics can be suggested as a prevention strategy and some preliminary evidence reinforces this axis.