Journals Proceedings

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are long-lived toxic organic compounds and are of major threat for human and ecosystem health. Recently, great concerns are raised about POPs mixtures and its potential toxicity even in doses of daily human exposure. Taking in consideration that current scientific consensus states that deficits in energetic metabolism and oxidative stress are common characteristics between neurodegenerative diseases and a large range of POPs is incriminated in the pathogenesis of these diseases, it would be quite interesting to study the effects of exposure to these mixtures on brain. For that, an orally chronic exposure to a representative mixture of POPs composed of Endosulfan (2.6μg), Chlorpyrifos(5.2μg),Naphthalene(0.023μg)andBenzopyrane(0.002 μg)/kg, or the same mixture folded by 10 or 100 were tested on the oxidative stress state in different brain regions of adult female rats. Exposed rats have shown an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and an alteration in glutathione (GSH) homeostasis in both mitochondrial and regional cytosolic fractions. These effects were accompanied by a decrease in levels of cytosolic Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) and a very significant increase in levels of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) in both cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions. The current study suggests that environmental exposure to low doses of POPs mixtures through diet induces oxidative stress in adult brain where mitochondria could be a privileged target. More studies are required to understand more responses patterns of brain to chronic exposure to POPs mixtures and its implication in neurodegenerative diseases' aetiology.