Abstract
Hair is a non-invasive biological material useful in the biomonitoring of trace elements because it is a vehicle for substance excretion from the body, and it permits evaluating long-term metal exposure. Here, hair from an animal model of neurodegeneration, induced by early life permethrin treatment from the sixth to 21th day of life, has been analyzed with the aim to assess if metal and microelement content could be used as biomarkers. A hair trace element assay was performed by the ICP-MS technique in six- and 12-month-old rats. A significant increase of As, Mg, S and Zn was measured in the permethrin-treated group at 12 months compared to six months, while Si and Cu/Zn were decreased. K, Cu/Zn and S were increased in the treated group compared to age-matched controls at six and 12 months, respectively. Cr significantly decreased in the treated group at 12 months. PCA analysis showed both a best difference between treated and age-matched control groups at six months. The present findings support the evidence that the Cu/Zn ratio and K, measured at six months, are the best biomarkers for neurodegeneration. This study supports the use of hair analysis to identify biomarkers of neurodegeneration induced by early life permethrin pesticide exposure.
Highlights
Hair is a non-invasive biological material useful for biomonitoring of heavy metals and microelements because it is a vehicle of substance excretion from the human body [1], and it permits evaluating long-term exposure of metals and microelement accumulation.Heavy metals in hair are up to 10-fold higher than the levels found in blood or urine [2]
Environmental exposure to metals and neurotoxicants can have a different impact on cohabiting partners, due to their different enzymatic activities [16,17]. Taking into account this evidence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the level of metals and microelements in neck hair from permethrin (PERM)-treated rats exposed to the pesticide during early life
Exposure to PERM in early postnatal life leads to metal and microelement alterations detectable in the hair of rats
Summary
Heavy metals in hair are up to 10-fold higher than the levels found in blood or urine [2] This is mainly due to the presence of cystine and metallic cations that form bonds with the sulfur of the matrix of hair keratin. For this reason, it represents an attractive choice for occupational and environmental surveys. Hair samples have the advantage of being a stable matrix, and its collection, transport and storage are very simple It is a biological material better accepted by the population than blood samples, and it is available for repeated determinations over time
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