Investigation of the therapeutic effect of melatonin on deltamethrin applied mouse primary hepatocyte culture

Abstract

Objective

In recent years, it has been known that the melatonin hormone, secreted from the pineal gland, possesses significant antioxidant activity. This study explores the therapeutic effect of melatonin on the deleterious effects of deltamethrin, a pyrethroid pesticide extensively used worldwide, including in Türkiye, on mouse liver cells.

Methods

Hepatocytes from Balb/C mice were isolated using a two-stage perfusion method, resulting in over 85% live hepatocytes. The isolated cells were cultured with different doses of deltamethrin (1 and 10 µM) and melatonin (100 µM) for 24 and 48 hours. At the conclusion of the culture period, hepatocytes were extracted at the 24th and 48th hours, and Malondialdehyde (MDA), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Total Oxidation Status (TOS), and DNA damages (8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)) were examined.

Results

While an increase in MDA, TOS, and DNA damage was observed in the deltamethrin-administered groups of hepatocytes, a decrease in TAC level was noted. It was determined that the applied deltamethrin had no effect on cell viability throughout the application period.

Conclusion

Furthermore, it was observed that melatonin, when administered concurrently with deltamethrin, reduced the toxic effect of deltamethrin. This study suggests that melatonin has a protective effect against deltamethrin-induced damage in mouse hepatocyte cells.

Keywords:

• Deltamethrin
• hepatocyte
• melatonin
• oxidative stress
• DNA damage

Authors’ contributions

EKO and ARO conceived the study and designed the experiments. NÖ, ZA, BEA, EÖ, AY, and ANE, carried out the cell isolation, culture, biochemical analyses and analysed the data. EKO and ARO wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics approval

All of the animal experimental procedures were performed in accordance with the animal study protocols approved by the Animal Researchers Local Ethic Committee of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (protocol no: 2023/13–35).

Consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Availability of data and material

All relevant data are within the paper, and those are available at the corresponding author.

Code availability

Not applicable

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Scientific Research Projects Department (FBA-2022–9901).