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Christine Broussard, Jessica Varney, THE ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE INHIBITOR MALATION IS NOT TOXIC TO THYMOCYTES, BUT MAY ALTER THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM AT LOW DOSES. (37.2), The Journal of Immunology, Volume 178, Issue 1_Supplement, April 2007, Page S18, https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.178.Supp.37.2
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Abstract
The incidence of allergy and asthma among children has risen 150% in the last two decades in children under five years old, and environmental pollutants are suspected to be contributors to this rise in incidence. Environmental pollutants, such as pesticides, are known to have a negative impact on the environment as well as many living organisms. However, there are a limited number of studies that have investigated the impact pesticides have on the immune system of mammals. Futhermore, even fewer studies exist that examine the impact of environmental toxicants on the immune system of the developing embryo and young animal, though the immune systems of the young are more vulnerable to perturbation than that of adults. Therefore risk assessment studies addressing fetal immune development are important tools for better understanding whether pesticides and other environmental toxicants contribute to immune system diseases that are widely common today. We set up an in vitro model system to assess the risk of exposure to the pesticide Malathion. Malathion was chosen for the study because of its widespread use in agriculture and the known role it plays as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. We analyzed the response of day 16–18 embryonic thymocytes to varying concentrations of Malathion. We hypothesized that greater concentrations of the pesticide would have a greater toxicity in T cells. Flow cytometric analysis was used to determine the level of toxicity and maturation of the embryonic T cells following culture.
J.V. is a ULV undergraduate researcher.
