Sex comparison of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis triggers induced by single-dose Abamectin in albino rats

Abstract

Abamectin (AB) is widely used in agriculture and has been employed as an insecticide, nematicide, and livestock pest control agent. However, it may also pose a serious threat to mammals. The primary purpose of this research was to compare the sex variations between male and female rats during exposure and to assess the risk of toxicity of abamectin, which are still largely unknown. The twenty albino rats were divided randomly into four groups (n = 5): 1) the male control group; 2) the male treatment group treated with AB (1 mg/kg B.W.); 3) the female control group; and 4) the female treatment group treated with AB (1 mg/kg B.W.). AB administration caused a drop in body weight in females more than males with showing oxidative stress in both sexes of animals, as characterized by an increase in MDA content and a decrease in glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Reported sex-specific effects suggested that females are more susceptible from males in brain tissues for alteration of antioxidant markers while females' liver and kidney tissues showed more level of lipid peroxidation than males. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction was associated with a significant decrease in NADH dehydrogenase (Complex I) and a significant decrease in mitochondrial ATPase, which led to apoptosis and histopathological alterations in the targeted tissues, indicating that females are higher sensitive than males to these biological events. In brief, the results of this study led to female rats are generally more sensitive than male rats to neurobehavioral and hepatic complications associated with abamectin treatment. Further evaluation should be performed to determine the adverse outcome pathways involved and to determine the effects of sex on improving the risk assessment of abamectin in both sexes.