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Genotoxicity of the insecticide rotenone in cultured human lymphocytes

A Guadaño1, A González-Coloma, E de la Peña

  • 1Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales, CSIC, c/Serrano 115 dpdo, 28006 Madrid, Spain. aguadano@pinar1.csic.es

Mutation Research
|June 19, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Rotenone genotoxicity was studied in human cells. It increased micronuclei and delayed cell cycles, but metabolic activation reduced these effects.

Area of Science:

  • Toxicology
  • Genetics
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Rotenone is a widely used pesticide and insecticide.
  • Understanding its genotoxic potential is crucial for risk assessment.
  • Previous studies on rotenone's genotoxicity have yielded mixed results.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the genotoxic activity of rotenone.
  • To assess the effects of metabolic activation on rotenone's genotoxicity.
  • To investigate rotenone's impact on sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE), chromosome aberrations (CA), and micronuclei (MN) in human lymphocytes.

Main Methods:

  • Human lymphocyte cultures were treated with rotenone.
  • Genotoxicity was assessed using assays for SCE, CA, and MN.
  • Tests were conducted with and without a metabolic activation system (S9 mix).

Main Results:

  • Rotenone increased the frequency of binucleated micronucleated (BNMN) cells.
  • Rotenone caused a delay in the cell cycle.
  • No significant increase in SCE or CA frequency was observed at tested concentrations.
  • The presence of S9 mix reduced the observed genotoxic effects of rotenone.

Conclusions:

  • Rotenone exhibits genotoxic activity, primarily indicated by micronucleus formation and cell cycle delay.
  • Metabolic activation diminishes the genotoxic potential of rotenone.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate rotenone's mechanisms of genotoxicity.

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