Effects of Pesticides on Longevity and Bioenergetics in Invertebrates-The Impact of Polyphenolic Metabolites.

Fabian Schmitt,Lukas Babylon,Gunter P Eckert,Fabian Dieter

doi:10.3390/ijms222413478

Fabian Schmitt, Lukas Babylon + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413478

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Abstract

Environmentally hazardous substances such as pesticides are gaining increasing interest in agricultural and nutritional research. This study aims to investigate the impact of these compounds on the healthspan and mitochondrial functions in an invertebrate in vivo model and in vitro in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, and to investigate the potential of polyphenolic metabolites to compensate for potential impacts. Wild-type nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans, N2) were treated with pesticides such as pyraclostrobin (Pyr), glyphosate (Gly), or fluopyram (Fluo). The lifespans of the nematodes under heat stress conditions (37 °C) were determined, and the chemotaxis was assayed. Energetic metabolites, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), lactate, and pyruvate, were analyzed in lysates of nematodes and cells. Genetic expression patterns of several genes associated with lifespan determination and mitochondrial parameters were assessed via qRT-PCR. After incubation with environmentally hazardous substances, nematodes were incubated with a pre-fermented polyphenol mixture (Rechtsregulat®Bio, RR) or protocatechuic acid (PCA) to determine heat stress resistance. Treatment with Pyr, Glyph and Fluo leads to dose-dependently decreased heat stress resistance, which was significantly improved by RR and PCA. The chemotaxes of the nematodes were not affected by pesticides. ATP levels were not significantly altered by the pesticides, except for Pyr, which increased ATP levels after 48 h leads. The gene expression of healthspan and mitochondria-associated genes were diversely affected by the pesticides, while Pyr led to an overall decrease of mRNA levels. Over time, the treatment of nematodes leads to a recovery of the nematodes on the mitochondrial level but not on stress resistance on gene expression. Fermented extracts of fruits and vegetables and phenolic metabolites such as PCA seem to have the potential to recover the vitality of C. elegans after damage caused by pesticides.

Highlights

Environmental chemicals with hazardous potential are widely used in agricultural industries
In the case of fluopyram and pyraclostrobin, the concentrations 2.5 and 5 μM were chosen because they were the first concentrations that led to a significant decline in the mean survival in the heat stress assay
We hypothesized a possible influence of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, and the fungicides fluopyram and pyraclostrobin on stress resistance and mitochondrial parameters

Summary

Introduction

Environmental chemicals with hazardous potential are widely used in agricultural industries. Known under the term “pesticides”, this word covers a wide range of compounds that include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, nematicides, and others [1,2]. They reduce crop losses due to pests, but they improve the quality and yield of produce [3]. Besides the potential agricultural advantages of pesticides, a broad spectrum of intensive studies over the years has declared these synthesized compounds to be hazardous to health [5,6,7]. Extensive research over the years has led to the realization that the harmful effects of pesticides include genotoxicity [8,9], teratogenicity, embryotoxicity [10], and perhaps carcinogenicity [11]

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