Levels of Organochlorine Pesticides Are Associated with Amyloid Aggregation in Apex Avian Brains
Organochlorine (OC) pesticides pose a significant environmental risk to wildlife and humans and have been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aims to spectroscopically analyze brains from free-flying birds and link the results to OC exposure and consequent amyloid aggregation....
Saved in:
| Published in: | Environmental science & technology Vol. 51; no. 15; p. 8672 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
01.08.2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 1520-5851, 1520-5851 |
| Online Access: | Get more information |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Organochlorine (OC) pesticides pose a significant environmental risk to wildlife and humans and have been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aims to spectroscopically analyze brains from free-flying birds and link the results to OC exposure and consequent amyloid aggregation. As long-lived apex predators, predatory birds represent a sentinel species similar to humans. Therefore, the results have implications for both species and may also add to our understanding of the role OC pesticides play in the development of AD. Brains of wild Sparrowhawks were analyzed using ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy and Congo red staining; results were correlated with OC pesticide concentrations in livers. Effects of OC exposure were sex- and age-dependent and associated alterations were seen in lipids and protein secondary structure. A shift from α-helix to β-sheet conformation of proteins indicated that concentrations of OC pesticides >7.18 μg/g may lead to cerebral amyloid aggregation. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1520-5851 1520-5851 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.est.7b00840 |