Striatal dopaminergic pathways as a target for the insecticides permethrin and chlorpyrifos

Because insecticide exposure has been linked to both Parkinsons disease and Gulf War illness, the neurotoxic actions of pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides on behavior and striatal dopaminergic pathways were investigated in C57BL/6 mice treated with permethrin (three i.p. doses at 0.2-200 mg/kg) or chlorpyrifos (three s.c. doses at 25-100 mg/kg) over a 2-week period. Permethrin altered maximal [3H]dopamine uptake in striatal synaptosomes from treated mice, with changes in Vmax displaying a bell-shaped curve. Uptake was increased to 134% of control at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg. At higher doses of PM (25 mg/kg), dopamine uptake declined to a level significantly below that of control (50% of control at 200 mg/kg, P < 0.01). We also observed a small, but statistically significant decrease in [3H]dopamine uptake by chlorpyrifos, when given at a dose of 100 mg/kg. There was no significant effect on the Km for dopamine transport. Evidence of cell stress was observed in measures of mitochondrialfunction, which were reduced in mice given high-end doses of chlorpyrifos and permethrin. Although cytotoxicity was not reflected in decreased levels of striatal dopamine in either 200 mg/kg PM or 100 mg/kg CPF treatment groups, an increase in dopamine turnover at 100 mg/kg CPF was indicated by a significant increase in titers of the dopamine metabolite, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. Both permethrin and chlorpyrifos caused a decrease in open field behavior at the highest doses tested. Although frank Parkinsonism was not observed, these findings confirm that dopaminergic neurotransmission is affected by exposure to pyrethroid and organophosphorus insecticides, and may contribute to the overall spectrum of neurotoxicity caused by these compounds.