Oxidative stress induction by OCPs and OPPs pesticides may cause lung cancer incidence

Abstract

Background and aims

Pesticides are nowadays known as one of the most important causes of human disorders worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in the development of lung cancer.

Methods

We determined the levels of seven derived OCP residues (α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, 2,4 DDT, 4,4 DDT, 2,4 DDE, and 4,4 DDE) and enzymatic antioxidant biomarkers including paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), erythrocyte’s acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and non-enzymatic antioxidant biomarkers, including total antioxidant capacity (TAC), protein carbonyl (PC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) in the blood samples of 51 lung cancer patients and 51 healthy subjects as controls. Furthermore, the effects of OPP exposure on the development of lung cancer and oxidative stress (OS) are indirectly assessed by measuring AChE and PON-1 enzyme activities.

Results

The average values of all the measured OCPs were significantly higher in lung cancer patients when compared with healthy control subjects (p < 0.05). AChE, PON-1, GPx, and CAT activity levels, as well as the amounts of PC, MDA, and NO were higher in patients with lung cancer than in the control subjects (p < 0.05), while TAC values were lower in the patients. Moreover, our data showed a significant association between OCP concentrations and OS parameters (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The results suggest that OCPs and OPPs may have a role in lung cancer incidence in southeastern Iran, and at least one of the mechanisms by which OCPs and OPPs may contribute to increasing the development of lung cancer in the studied area is through OS generation.

Keywords:

• Acetylcholinesterase
• lung cancer
• organochlorine
• organophosphorous
• oxidative stress
• pesticides

Acknowledgement

As a sign of gratitude for their cooperation, we would like to thank subjects participating in this study.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

This research followed the principles of the amended Helsinki Declaration (2013) which is a statement of ethical concepts to supply guidance to physicians and participants in human-involved medical studies and confirmed by the Ethics Committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran (IR.KMU.REC. 1398.335). All participants have consciously signed the consent form.

Consent for publication

All participants agree to publish this article.

Author contributions

Moslem Abolhassani and Gholamreza Asadikaram conceived the study and designed the survey and provided continuous guidance throughout the study and interpreted the data. Mojtaba Abbasi-Jorjandi_, Sanaz Faramarz and Fatemeh Yousefi collected samples. Moslem Abolhassani and Fouzieh Salimi performed all experiments, oversaw data collection and analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Hossein Pourghdamyari, Reza Malekpour Afshar, Parisa Asadikaram, and Mohsen Shafiepour helped the survey and analyzed data. All authors have participated in the revisions of the manuscript and have approved the final version.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The present project supported by a grant provided by the Kerman University of Medical sciences [project number: 96001011].