Homo- and hetero-dimers of inactive organophosphorous group binding at dual sites of AChE

Homo- and hetero-dimers of inactive organophosphorous group(s) dramatically enhanced the acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) inhibiting potency, with the highest potency observed at a tether length of 6 methylene groups (6d) for the homodimers, and 7 methylene groups (8e) for the heterodimers. The docking model of Drosophila melanogaster AChE suggested that 6d and 8e bound at the catalytic and peripheral sites of AChE, in which two organophosphorous groups of 6d individually oriented towards TRP83 of catalytic sites and TRP321 of peripheral sites, and phthalicimide group of 8e was appropriately arranged for a π-π interaction with the phenyl ring of TYR330, furthermore, the organophosphorous group introduced hydrophobic interaction with TRP83. The compounds prepared in this work demonstrated high insecticidal activity to Lipaphis erysimi and Tetranychus cinnbarinus at the concentration 300mg/L.     

甲胺磷和乙酰甲胺磷对萼花臂尾轮虫实验种群动态的影响

应用3天种群增长实验方法,在(25±1)℃、无光照、以3.0×106 cells/mL的斜生栅藻为轮虫的食物等条件下,研究了亚致死浓度(0.01、0.1、1.0、10.0、100.0、1000.0和10000.0 µg/L)的甲胺磷和乙酰甲胺磷对萼花臂尾轮虫实验种群动态的影响。结果显示,甲胺磷和乙酰甲胺磷显著地影响萼花臂尾轮虫的种群增长率、混交雌体数与非混交雌体数的比值和混交率。甲胺磷显著地影响萼花臂尾轮虫种群中的带卵雌体数与不带卵雌体数的比值,但乙酰甲胺磷对其无显著的影响。和对照组相比,浓度为100.0 µg/L 的甲胺磷和浓度为1.0－10,000.0 µg/L 的乙酰甲胺磷均使轮虫种群增长率显著增大,而浓度为1000.0 µg/L和10000.0 µg/L的甲胺磷却使之显著减小;1000.0 µg/L 的甲胺磷使轮虫种群中的带卵雌体数与不带卵雌体数的比值显著上升,0.1 µg/L的甲胺磷和10.0－10000.0 µg/L的乙酰甲胺磷均使轮虫种群中的混交雌体数与非混交雌体数的比值显著上升,0.1µg/L 的甲胺磷和10 µg/L的乙酰甲胺磷均使轮虫的混交率显著增大,10.0－0000.0 µg/L 的乙酰甲胺磷使轮虫休眠卵产量显著提高。上述结果表明,亚致死浓度的甲胺磷和乙酰甲胺磷对萼花臂尾轮虫实验种群动态具有显著的影响。     

Diethylthiophosphate and diethyldithiophosphate induce genotoxicity in hepatic cell lines when activated by further biotransformation via Cytochrome P450

Organophosphorous (OP) compounds are the most commonly used pesticides. There are several published reports on the direct toxicity of OP pesticides, but few data on the toxicity of their metabolites. To determine if diethylthiophosphate (DETP) and diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP), two of the major OP metabolites, demonstrate genotoxicity, and to elucidate the possible genotoxic mechanisms, we treated WRL68, HepG2, HeLa and human blood cells with different concentrations of DETP and DEDTP. We evaluated the possible contribution of oxidative stress generation and P450 enzymes to the genotoxicity of the OP metabolites, as determined using the comet assay. Our results showed that both OP metabolites (DETP and DEDTP) induce DNA damage only in the hepatic cell lines, and this effect could be related to a secondary non-diffusible metabolite generated by the activity of P450 enzymes since P450 enzyme inhibitors also inhibited the induction of DNA damage in hepatic cells. These secondary metabolites should be taken into account when assessing risk to human populations exposed to OP pesticides.     

Effect of repeated oral administration of quinalphos to male goat (Capra hircus)

Quinalphos given in daily oral doses of 0.5 mg/kg for 110 days induced severe signs of organophosphorus poisoning in male goats. The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity in erythrocyte was highly significant. The activity of liver glutamic; oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic; pyruvic.transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and protein indicated marked alteration. The haematological changes were however, relatively less significant with the exception of a very low count of red blood cells and white blood cells in the treated animals. Among the vital organs, only liver suggested mild cellular changes due to quinalphos intoxication. There was no significant pathological change in other organs of the treated animals. In animals observed after 15 and 30 days rest, the activity of acetylcholinesterase in red blood cells and haematological picture showed a fairly good recovery. This study suggests that although quinalphos in low concentrations did not produce discernible cellular changes, it induced highly significant enzymatic and haematological changes in the goat.     

Enzymatic bioremediation of organophosphorus insecticides by recombinant organophosphorous hydrolase

The gene for organophosphorous hydrolase (OPH) (GenBank accession no. M20392) was chemically synthesised with a codon bias toward E. coli, followed by its cloning and heterologous over-expression in E. coli under induction with 0.1 M isopropyl-d-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The protein was localised in the membrane fraction and no amount of the expressed protein was soluble, thus hindering its purification and further downstream utility. The expressed enzyme was solubilised by mild treatment with ionic detergent [sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS 1.0% (w/v))]. An innovative step of incubation at 4 °C was used to precipitate SDS, resulting in catalytically active OPH in the supernatant and detergent at the bottom. This solubilised, SDS-free, recombinant OPH was able to detoxify parathion and methylparathion ranging between 10-80% and 3.6-45% in enzyme reaction cycles after immobilization on Ca-alginate and agar-agar, respectively.     

Synthesis and testing of trifluoromethyl-containing phosphonate-peptide conjugates as inhibitors of serine hydrolases

A modification of novel fluorinated organophosphorous compounds containing terminal alkyne group by different azidopeptides via Cu(I)-catalyzed click chemistry has been described. The inhibitor activity of trifluoromethyl-containing methylphosphonates and their peptide-conjugates towards acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and carboxylesterase has been investigated. It was shown that the incorporation of peptide fragments significantly modulates the esterase profile of starting methylphosphonates.     

Organophosphorous and organochlorine pesticides affect human placental phosphoinositides metabolism and PI-4 kinase activity

The objective of this work was to describe the effect of organophosphorous and organochlorine pesticides on phosphoinositides metabolism in human placenta. Pesticides concentration (10 microM) was used for in vitro incubations of cell-free homogenates labelled with (32)P orthophosphate. Heptachlor (HC) and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (o-p' DDT) increased phosphatidyl-inositol, phosphatidylinositolphosphate, and phosphatidyl-inositolbiphosphate phosphorylation while azinphosmethyl (AM) increased phosphatidylinositolbiphosphate labeling. Decreased (32)P incorporation in phosphatidylinositol was found with phosmet (PM), AM, and chlorpyriphos (CHL).The effects of these xenobiotics on PI4-kinase activity using different subcellular fractions were also examined. Both type of pesticides affected the postmembrane supernatant enzyme activity. A biphasic effect on membrane and nuclear PI4-kinase activity was seen with HC. The strongest effect found was seen with o-p' DDT in nuclear kinase activity while substantial changes were also observed in membrane.These data demonstrate the sensitivity of human placental PI4-kinase to pesticides currently found in human tissues and suggest deleterious consequences in different processes regulated by 4-phosphoinositides.     

Identification of a biomarker for propetamphos and development of a biological monitoring assay

This paper describes the identification of a human metabolite of propetamphos ((E-O-2-isopropylcarbonyl-1-methylvinyl-O-methylethylphosphoramidothioate), formed by the hydrolytic cleavage of the enol-vinyl-phosphate bond, and the development of an analytical method suitable for biological monitoring of propetamphos exposure. The metabolite has been detected in the urine of exposed workers but not in that of control subjects. The analytical method involves azeotropic distillation of the urine with acetonitrile, followed by derivatization with pentafluorobenzyl bromide and analysis using gas chromatography with flame photometric detection.