In this new series, we are going to highlight the different articles published by the consortium, in a version more accessible to the public.
For this first edition, let’s have a look at this article published by our partners from the University Cadi Ayyad of Marrakech (Morocco) entitled « Exposure to metam sodium-based pesticide impaired cognitive performances in adult mice: Involvement of oxidative damage and glial activation« . The article is available here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0041008X23003162
Let’s figure it out!
Cognitive integrity is a crucial aspect of brain function, and a decline in cognitive abilities is a sign of neurotoxicity. Oxidative stress is a major pathological process that contributes to cognitive deficits, which can result from exposure to environmental pollutants such as pesticides.
Among these, metam sodium-based pesticides (MS-BP) are an emerging type widely used in agriculture and public health to control pests and diseases. Our previous research showed that exposure to MS-BP during early brain development caused cognitive impairments in animals.
In this study, we investigated whether exposure to this compound in a fully developed brain would affect cognitive performance and cause oxidative damage to the central nervous system. Adult mice received chronic treatment with increasing doses of MS-BP and were subjected to a series of behavioral tests. After the behavioral assessments, we evaluated oxidative stress and glial cell activation.
Our main findings:
- Chronic exposure to MS-BP impaired recognition and short- and long-term memory in the mice.
- These cognitive alterations were accompanied by increased superoxide dismutase activity and higher malondialdehyde levels, as well as a significant decrease in catalase activity in specific brain regions.
- Additionally, exposure to MS-BP led to a marked increase in astrocytic and microglial markers, indicating a possible glial cell response in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
In summary: This study demonstrates that MS-BP can disrupt cognitive performance, likely through oxidative damage to the brain.