In vitro effects of fipronil on neuronal excitability in mammalian and molluscan nervous systems.
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2009, Vol 16, Issue 1
Abstract
The effect of the insecticide fipronil on non-target organisms was studied on rat brain slices and identified giant neurons of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. This compound acts as an antagonist on GABA(A) receptors. Although fipronil has moderate mammalian toxicity, our experiments confirmed that it modifies neuronal excitability in the rat somatosensory cortex. The amplitudes of evoked field potentials increased significantly after 30 min fipronil treatment. Short-term plasticity was examined with paired-pulse stimulation, this phenomenon was not affected by fipronil. On the other hand, the efficacy of LTP-induction was enhanced in the treated slices. Fipronil is highly toxic to freshwater invertebrates, especially molluscs. In Lymnaea stagnalis, the firing pattern of a GABA receptor- containing neuron (RPeD1) was studied. On this neuron, GABA has an excitatory, hypopolarizing effect. Fipronil treatment decreased the action potential frequency in a concentration-dependent manner. On the membrane potential of the cell, it had a slightly hyperpolarizing effect. These experiments confirmed that fipronil toxicity is mediated by GABA receptors in the nervous system of invertebrates as well as vertebrates. These types of experiments may help in establishing tolerance levels of pesticide residues and in finding proper treatment in case of eventual poisonings.
Authors and Affiliations
Petra Varró, János Gyori, Ildikó Világi
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP58628
- DOI -
- Views 225
- Downloads 0
Sperm epigenetic profile and risk of cancer
Introduction and objective. The integrity, stability and composition of sperm chromatin are of great importance in the fertilizing potential of male gametes and their capacity to support normal embryonic development. In...
Rare cause of recurrent fainting – multiple kinking and brachiocephalic origin of the left common carotid artery
The case is presented of a 80-year-old male patient with a history of a few episodes of fainting. In the computed tomography of the head and CT angiography of the carotid arteries, an abnormal origin of the left common c...
Analysis of lifestyle of young adults in the rural and urban areas
An unhealthy lifestyle among young people is a serious and often unnoticed problem. It seems that there are differences in the lifestyle of young people from rural and urban areas. The objective of this study was to comp...
Content of transfluthrin in indoor air during the use of electro-vaporizers.
The quality of indoor air evokes increasing interest; however, no standards have been developed which determine the content of pesticides in the air of living space. At present, insecticides are increasingly more frequen...
Occurrence of antibodies to Anaplasma phagocytophilum in patients with suspected tick-borne encephalitis
[b][/b]Introduction and objectives. Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease caused by [i]Anaplasma phagocytophilum[/i]. In Europe, the first serological evidence of HGA was de...