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PESTICIDE & SPERM IMPACT RESEARCH – Murray Thompson 16 May 2008

TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR PYRETHRINS AND PYRETHROIDS (September 2003, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES), pp.61-62 3.2.2.5 Reproductive Effects Some investigators have reported adverse effects in male reproductive organs following intermediate duration oral exposure to pyrethroids at dose levels below those eliciting clinical signs of neurotoxicity. Abd El-Aziz et al. (1994) reported that male rats, administered deltamethrin in oral doses as low as 1 mg/kg/day (the lowest level tested) for 65 days, exhibited significantly lower weights of testicles, seminal vesicles, and prostate gland than vehicle controls. Sperm analysis of treated rats revealed significantly reduced sperm cell concentration, live cell percentage, and motility index, and a significantly higher percentage of total sperm abnormalities, relative to controls. Plasma testosterone levels were significantly reduced as early as 14 days following the beginning of treatment, remaining significantly lower 21 days after treatment ceased. Male fertility was tested at the end of treatment and 60 days posttreatment. At both time points, the percentage of successful matings to untreated female rats was 50% that of controls. Similarly, oral administration of cypermethrin to male rats at 3.8 and 7.7 mg/kg/day (El-Khalek et al. 1999) and fenvalerate at 20 or 100 mg/kg/day (Hassan et al. 1993) for 65 days resulted in reduced male reproductive organ weights and significantly altered sperm characteristics. INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp155.html; accessed: 16 May 2008. =================================================================================

Impaired Semen Quality Associated With Environmental DDT Exposure in Young Men Living in a Malaria Area in the Limpopo Province, South Africa NATALIE H. ANECK-HAHN,*{ GLORIA W. SCHULENBURG,{ MARIA S. BORNMAN,{ PAULINA FARIAS,§ AND CHRISTIAAN DE JAGER* From the *Environmental Health, School of Health Systems & Public Health, and _Andrology, Department of Urology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, and `Department of Urology, University of Limpopo, Medunsa, South Africa; and §Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.

“WHO (1999) states that below 15% normal forms, the fertilization rates in vitro will be reduced. The study investigating exposure to DDT in malaria vector-control workers had a mean normal morphology score of 2.5% 6 1.8%, with 84% of the morphology scores being below the WHO (1992) and Tygerberg strict criteria. The Tygerberg strict criteria could be said to be inappropriately strict for epidemiological settings in which the aim is to detect more subtle effects (Dalvie et al, 2004b). A significantly high proportion of the participants in this study presented with teratozoospermia (99.5%), and the mean percent normal morphology was 4.13% 6 2.70%, which is well below the WHO (1999) reference range of 15% normal forms.”

Journal of Andrology, Vol. 28, No. 3, May/June 2007; Copyright E American Society of Andrology

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REFERENCE: World Health Organization. WHO Laboratory Manual for the Examination of Human Semen and Sperm–Cervical Mucus Interaction. 4th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1999.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/reprint/28/3/423; accessed: 16 May 2008.

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Reduced Seminal Parameters Breakthroughs in Andrology Associated With Environmental DDT Exposure and p,p9-DDE Concentrations in Men in Chiapas, Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Study

CHRISTIAAN DE JAGER,*† PAULINA FARIAS,‡ ALBINO BARRAZA-VILLARREAL,‡ MAURICIO HERNANDEZ AVILA,‡ PIERRE AYOTTE,§ ERIC DEWAILLY,§ CHRISTIAN DOMBROWSKI,\ FRANC¸ OIS ROUSSEAU,\ VICENTE DIAZ SANCHEZ,¶ AND JANICE L. BAILEY*

From the *Centre de Recherche en Biologie de la Reproduction, De´partement des Sciences Animales, Universite´ Laval, Que´bec City, Que´bec, Canada; †Environmental Health, School of Health Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; ‡Centro de Investigacio´n en Salud Poblacional, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pu´blica, Cuernavaca Morelos, Me´xico; §Unite´ de Recherche en Sante´ Publique, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Universite´ Laval-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Que´bec, Universite´ Laval et Direction de la Toxicologie Humaine-Institut de la Recherche en Sante´ Publique du Que´bec, Sainte Foy, Que´bec, Canada; //Unite´ de Recherche en Ge´ne´tique Humaine et Mole´culaire, Services de Biochimie Me´dicale et de Ge´ne´tique de Laboratoire, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Que´bec, Pavillon St-Franc¸ois d’Assise, Que´bec, City, Que´bec, Canada; and the ¶Departmento de Biologı´a de la Reproduccio´n, Instituto Nacional de Nutricio´n, Me´xico DF, Me´xico. “ABSTRACT: In response to mounting concerns about the endocrine- disrupting influence of environmental chemicals on human health, this epidemiological study was initiated to test the hypothesis that nonoccupational exposure to the estrogenic pesticide 1,1,1- trichloro-2,2-bis(chlorodiphenyl)ethane (DDT) affects male reproductive parameters… Crude regression analysis showed that several sperm motion parameters, including the percentage of motile sperm, decreased with higher p,p9-DDE concentrations (b 5 28.38; P 5 .05 for squared motility), and the percentage of sperm with morphological tail defects increased with higher plasma p,p9-DDE concentration (b 5 0.003; P 5 .017). Therefore, nonoccupational exposure to DDT, as assessed by plasma p,p9-DDE concentrations, is associated with poorer semen parameters in men, indicating adverse effects on testicular function and/or the regulation of reproductive hormones. Previously, a causal role of environmental toxicants in human male infertility has been lacking because observed effects have been the result of unusually high exposures, either occupationally or as a result of industrial accidents, resulting in unprecedented controversy (reviewed by Cheek & McLachlan, Environmental hormones and the male reproductive system. J Androl. 1998;19:5). This is the first epidemiological study demonstrating effects after nonoccupational exposures to DDT. Based on these findings, the effect of DDT on male reproductive health should not be ignored.”

Journal of Andrology, Vol. 27, No. 1, January/February 2006. Copyright q American Society of Andrology

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/reprint/27/1/16.pdf accessed: 16 May 2008.

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Organophosphorus pesticide exposure decreases sperm quality: association between sperm parameters and urinary pesticide levels

Rogelio Recio-Vega 1, Guadalupe Ocampo-Gómez 1, Victor H. Borja-Aburto 2, Javier Moran-Martínez 1, Mariano E. Cebrian-Garcia 3 *

1Departamento de Salud Ambiental, Centro de Investigación Biomédica, Facultad de Medicina de Torreón, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, México 2Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México DF, México 3Sección de Toxicología, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, México DF, México email: Mariano E. Cebrian-Garcia (mcebrian@cinvestav.mx)

*Correspondence to Mariano E. Cebrian-Garcia, Sección de Toxicología, CINVESTAV, PO Box 14-740, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional # 2508, Col. Zacatenco, Delegación Gustavo A. Madero, CP 07300, México D.F., México.

Funded by: CONACYT, Mexico; Grant Number: 28403-M. WHO Human Reproduction Program, Switzerland; Grant Number: 96349 UC-MEXUS, Mexico-USA; NIH/Fogarty International Center Training and Research in Environmental and

Occupational Health; Grant Number: TW00623

“ABSTRACT: Several studies have suggested that human semen quality has declined over the past decades and some of them have associated it with occupational exposure to pesticides. However, most of these studies have not been associated with a reliable exposure level and have been designed mostly as cross-sectional studies. The present work evaluates, in a longitudinal follow-up study, the effect of organophosphate pesticides (OP) at three occupational exposure levels on semen quality. In addition, the study examined the association between OP urinary levels and sperm parameters in exposed and unexposed workers. A total of 139 semen samples from 52 volunteers were assessed. Urinary OP levels were measured by gas-liquid chromatography. The results revealed that the poorest semen quality was found among the subjects with the highest OP exposure and the highest urinary OP levels. Seasonal variations in sperm concentration and sperm count were registered. The results showed a significant decrease in total sperm count among subjects with the highest exposure to OP. Further studies assessing the effects of OP on male reproductive health should be controlled by the variability in human sperm parameters, sperm seasonality, spermatogenesis time and the changing OP exposure level in men highly exposed to OP.” Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received: 27 September 2007; Revised: 9 October 2007; Accepted: 10 October 2007 INTERNET SOURCE: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117352750/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0, accessed: 16 May 2008.

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Maternal and paternal occupational exposure to agricultural work and the risk of anencephaly M Lacasan˜a, H Va´zquez-Grameix, V H Borja-Aburto, J Blanco-Mun˜oz, I Romieu, C Aguilar-Gardun˜o, A M Garcı´a “Aims: To evaluate the association between parental occupational exposure to agricultural work and the risk of anencephaly in three Mexican states. (anencephalic : adjective. Medicine having part or all of the cerebral hemispheres and the rear of the skull congenitally absent. (Concise Oxford, 11th Edn.) Methods: A paired case control study (1:1) was done based on records of the Epidemiological Surveillance System of Neural Tube Defects in Mexico; 151 cases of anencephaly of more than 20 weeks’ gestation were selected between March 2000 and February 2001. Controls were selected from the same maternity services as those of the cases and were born alive without congenital malformations. Information was obtained from both parents by means of a general questionnaire, a food frequency questionnaire, and a specific questionnaire on occupational exposure to pesticides. Exposures were analysed with emphasis on the three months before and one month after the last menstruation periods (acute risk period (ARP)), as well as exposure prior to the abovementioned period (non-acute risk period (NARP)). Results: The children of mothers who worked in agriculture in the ARP had a greater risk of anencephaly (OR = 4.57, 95% CI 1.05 to 19.96). The risk of fathers having a child with anencephaly was greater in those who applied pesticides irrespective of whether it was done in the ARP or the NARP (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 0.73 to 8.64; and OR= 2.03, 95% CI 0.58 to 7.08, respectively). Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis of the effect of maternal exposure to agricultural work on anencephaly and suggest that exposure of the father to pesticides in the periconceptional period or prior to this can also increase the risk of having an anencephalic child.” Occup Environ Med 2006;63:649–656. doi: 10.1136/oem.2005.023333

INTERNET SOURCE: http://oem.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/63/10/649?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=sperm+pyrethroid&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT, accessed: 16 May 2008. ==============================================================================

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Ultimate source of the following: ScienceDirect.com MP-04.27 Xenobiotics in genito-urology: pyrethroid-induced functional disturbances in vesical detrusor and vas deferens

Neu E1, Haerlin U1, Hofstetter A2, Magour S3, Michailov M1, Seidenbusch W4 1Inst. fuer Umweltmedizin c/o ICSD, Germany; 2Urol. Klinik, Univ. Muenchen, Germany; 3Freie Univ. Berlin, Germany; 4Inst. Exp.Physik, Univ. Innsbruck, Austria

Objective: Progressive increase of human exposition on chemicals demands evaluation for functional urogenital disturbances, prevention of motor dysfunctions leading to infections, renal destruction/hypertension. Guinea-pig-detrusor (D), vas-deferens (Vd) and ureter (U) are model preparations in medical physiology [Table], using for examination xenobiotics-effects. Methods: Effects of cypermethrin (CY), deltamethrin (DE) 0.1-100 _M on spontaneous (phasic) (SPC, 1-5/min) and contractions to electrical neurogenic (TTXblockade) stimulation with 10 and 100 Hz, 3 ms, 3 s (CES10/100) were recorded. Results: Present experiments demonstrate negative chrono-/inotropic pyrethroidaction (0.1-10 _M) on SPC/D-U. Important differences in degree of inhibitory effects between CY/DE on CES of D-Vd are evident: DE 1-10 _M had augmentory effect on CES10-Vd (113.0 _5.7%). CY induced transformation of electrical spike into a burst-plateau activity (vesical myocytes). Evidence of toxic effects is given in a comparative statistical evaluation for high concentrations. Conclusions: Pathophysiological motor reactions are a sensitive indicator for functional disturbances on toxicants (human D reacted to Hg 0.1-1 nM) [4d,e]. Pyrethroids induce general, also specific-pathological effects dependent on chemical structures (CY/DE) and organs (D-Vd). Different effects CY/DE on CES10/100 support results about existence of two sets of postganglionic neuro-vegetative effector regulation of Vd (incl. human, with low and high pyrethroid- and thermosensitivity, excitable at different frequencies) [3b,c]. Further experiments are necessary to examine pharmacodynamics (invasionelimination, metabolization-cumulation) incl. acute/chronic intoxication. UROLOGY 68 (Supplement 5A), November 2006, page 78 ==========================================================================

P23-16 In vivo genotoxicity of the synthetic pyrethroid pesticide “cypermethrin” in rat liver cells by Comet assay El-Hussein Naguib El-Khatib1, Mona Abd El-Aziz2, Yahia Badr2, Nashwah Kamal1 1 Mammalian Toxicology Department, Central Agricultural Pesticides Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Giza, Egypt; 2 National Institute of Laser Sciences, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

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“The Comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis, “SCGE”) is a simple method for measuring deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breaks in eukaryotic cells. The assay has applications in testing different chemical and physical agents for genotoxicity and monitoring environmental contamination with genotoxins. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the genotoxic effects of the synthetic pyrethroid pesticide “cypermethrin”, which is widely used in Egypt in pest-control programs in agriculture and in public health as well. Male rats were sacrificed 1, 7 or 14 days after administration of single oral dose 1/30, 1/10 or 1/5 LD50 of commercial formulation of cypermethrin. Single liver cell suspensions were prepared and a Comet assay was performed. With the SCGE assay, a clear induction of DNA was observed. It is generally noticed that all pesticide treatments yielded statistically significant (p < 0.0001) DNA damage. In conclusion, cypermethrin induced a clear significant positive dose-dependent increase in DNA damage in the rat liver cells exposed to cypermethrin as compared with controls. But the effects in the SCGE were generally decreased with time after treatments. The results of the present work suggested that Comet assay might be a suitable and sensitive endpoint in genotoxicity evaluation of pesticides, but we confirm that various tests should be used for detecting the mutagenic activity of pesticides.” doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2006.07.260 =====================================================

In vitro genotoxic effects of the insecticide deltamethrin in human peripheral blood leukocytes: DNA damage (‘comet’ assay) in relation to the induction of sister-chromatid exchanges and micronuclei Milena Villarini a, Massimo Moretti a,*, Rossana Pasquini a, Giuseppina Scassellati-Sforzolini a, Cristina Fatigoni a, Massimiliano Marcarelli a, Silvano Monarca b, Alberto Vicent Rodrı´guez a,c a Department of Hygiene, Uni6ersity of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, I-06126 Perugia, Italy b School of Medicine, Uni6ersity of Brescia, Via Valsabbina, I-25124 Brescia, Italy c ‘Erasmus’ Fellowship (ICP-94 -I-1265 :12), Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense Uni6ersity of Madrid, E-28040 Madrid, Spain “Abstract: Deltamethrin, a synthetic dibromo-pyrethroid insecticide, is extensively used in agriculture, forestry and in household products because of its high activity against a broad spectrum of insect pests (both adults and larvae), its low animal toxicity and its lack of persistence in the environment. Data on the genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of deltamethrin are rather controversial, depending on the genetic system or the assay used. The aim of this study was to further evaluate the potential genotoxic activity of deltamethrin. The in vitro genotoxicity of deltamethrin has been evaluated by assessing the ability of the insecticide to damage DNA (as evaluated using the single-cell microgel-electrophoresis

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or ‘comet’ assay) or induce sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE) and micronuclei (MN) in human peripheral blood leukocytes. All treatments were conducted with and without the presence of an external bioactivation source (9S9mix). The results indicate that deltamethrin, in the presence of metabolic activation (_S9mix), is able to induce DNA damage (double- and single-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites and open excision repair sites) as revealed by the increasing tail moment values observed with increasing doses. The frequency of SCE and MN were not statistically increased in deltamethrin-treated cells as compared to controls, both with and without S9mix. However, lower deltamethrin doses were tested, as compared to ‘comet’ assay, because of cytotoxicity.” © 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland, Ltd. All rights reserved. Received 13 March 1998; accepted 5 August 1998 ========================================================

Genotoxic effects on human spermatozoa among pesticide factory workers exposed to fenvalerate Yankai Xiaa, Qian Biana, Lichun Xua, Senping Chenga, Lin Songa, Jiayin Liu b, Wei Wub, Shoulin Wang a, Xinru Wang a,∗ a Institute of Toxicology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China “Abstract: Fenvalerate, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, is widely produced and used worldwide. To explore fenvalerate-induced genotoxic effects, particularly numerical chromosome aberration (CA), we firstly examined conventional semen parameters, the progression and motion parameters of the spermatozoa among 12 fenvalerate-exposed workers and 30 donors of the internal and external control groups. Then numerical CA of chromosome X, Y and 18 were investigated by multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The results showed the significant differences in the percentage of sperm abnormality between fenvalerate-exposed group and the external control group (P = 0.024). In aneuploid parameters, the frequency (mean ± S.D.) of sex chromosome disomy was 0.742 ± 0.131% in fenvalerate-exposed group, which was significantly higher than those in the internal (0.563 ± 0.135%) and external control group (0.386 ± 0.140%) (P < 0.01), and the frequency of chromosome 18 disomy in fenvalerate-exposed group (0.326 ± 0.069%) was significantly higher than those in the internal and external control groups (0.195±0.094% and 0.124±0.068%), respectively (P < 0.01). We also found the nullisomies of sex chromosomes and chromosome 18 were significantly higher than those in the external control group and two control groups, respectively (P<0.01). The frequencies of aneuploidy and numerical CA we detected also showed significant differences between exposed group and control groups (P < 0.05 and/or P < 0.01). Moreover, we found the positive correlation not only between nullisomic frequencies of these chromosomes and numerical CA rate (r > 0.70, P < 0.01) but also between disomic frequency of sex chromosomes, aneuploidy rate and sperm abnormality in all donors (r = 0.530 and r = 0.536, P < 0.01).

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Our findings suggest that fenvalerate or its metabolites induced morphologic abnormality and genotoxic defects of spermatozoa among fenvalerate-exposed workers by causing numerical CA in spermatogenesis as a special and potential genotoxic agent.” © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved Received 4 April 2004; received in revised form 21 May 2004; accepted 24 May 2004 Available online 2 July 2004 =================================================================