Hexaconazole exposure disrupt acetylcholinesterase, leading to mental illness

Decreased activity of acetylcholine esterase as a biomarker of pesticide exposure in female tea plantation workers

Because of their beneficial effects in controlling pests, pesticides are used worldwide to reduce pests in agricultural fields and commercial gardens, thereby increasing the crop yield. Pesticides are ubiquitous in the environment and besides targeting pests they also affect non-target organisms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibition and its associated health effects in female tea plantation workers (TPW). In silico analysis was applied to identify whether pesticide exposure had an increased affinity after binding with the AChE enzyme, and the findings were validated by measuring the AChE activity in the plasma of study subjects by the biochemical analysis. The activity of AChE was found to be considerably compromised in TPW exposed to pesticides. Inhibition of AChE activity may lead to severe adverse health effects, such as cough, fatigue, and headache in TPW exposed to pesticides. Among all pesticides, λ-cyhalothrin, fipronil, and fenazaquine had the highest binding affinity with AChE (-10.098 Kcal/mol, -8.574 Kcal/mol, and -8.507 Kcal/mol, respectively) as compared to the other pesticides and their natural acetylcholine substrate (-4.398 Kcal/mol). Based on in silico results, AChE was found to have the highest binding affinity with λ-cyhalothrin, fipronil, and fenazaquine, and these pesticides could be responsible for the enzyme activity inhibition. Hence, these pesticides may cause more adverse health effects on humans compared to other pesticides. This finding on biomarker role for AChE may aid in the development of effective antidotes against pesticide exposure, thereby faciliating mitigation of negative health effects of pesticides.

Investigating the link between microplastic exposure (benzyl butyl phthalate) and neurodegenerative diseases using high-performance computational toxicology

Background

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, typically less than 5 mm in size, formed from the breakdown of larger plastic products. This breakdown releases additives, including benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), into the environment. Humans can be exposed to BBP through contaminated food and water, inhalation, and dermal contact.

Aim

Research suggests that BBP, like other phthalates, may have neurotoxic effects, potentially contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders, though its specific toxic targets are not yet clear.

Methodology

In this study, high-performance computational methods were used to identify potential neurotoxic targets of BBP. The findings indicate that BBP has a strong potential to interact with Parkin (PRKN) and Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1 (PDK1), with binding scores of -5.35 kcal/mol, -5.56 kcal/mol, respectively. The PRKN and PDK1 BBP complexes were stable throughout the simulation period, as evidenced by the system's backbone exhibiting slight fluctuations and binding energies confirmed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories.

Results

The MMPBSA analysis revealed free binding energies of -21.29 kcal/mol and - 27.06 kcal/mol for the PRKN and PDK1 BBP complexes, respectively. The interaction energies of BBP with PRKN and PDK1 were also within an acceptable range, at -113.68 ± 3.1 kJ/mol and - 117.54 ± 6.2 kJ/mol, respectively. Additionally, density-functional theory (DFT) based optimization showed negative values for the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) -6.934 eV and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) -1.562 eV, indicating that BBP is energetically stable, which is crucial for forming a stable ligand-protein complex.

Conclusion

Overall, the computational investigation reveals that BBP has the potential to interact with PRKN and PDK1, leading to neurodegeneration.

Hexaconazole exposure may lead to Parkinson via disrupting glucocerebrosidase and parkin: molecular interaction, dynamics, MMPBSA and DFT based in-silico predictive toxicology

Hexaconazole is a known fungicide for agricultural purposes. It has bioaccumulation ability which makes it important for its toxicological characterization. There are various neurological impacts of pollutants on human health. Therefore, in this study, we have done predictive analyses of the interaction mechanism of hexaconazole by molecular interaction analysis, molecular dynamics simulation, and Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) to assess hexaconazole's potency to disrupt the homeostasis of glucocerebrosidase (-7.9 kcal/mol) and parkin (-5.67 kcal/mol) proteins which have significant roles in the manifestation of Parkinson disease. The findings reveal that hexaconazole has the potency to form stable interactions with glucocerebrosidase and parkin. This research provides a molecular and atomic-level understanding of how hexaconazole exposure may disrupt the homeostasis of glucocerebrosidase and parkin. The root mean square deviation (RMSD), root mean square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration, and hydrogen bonding exhibited the potent molecular interactions of hexaconazole, which may lead to neurological manifestations such as Parkinson disease.