Effects of Diethyl Phosphate, a Non-Specific Metabolite of Organophosphorus Pesticides, on Serum Lipid, Hormones, Inflammation, and Gut Microbiota

Abstract

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) can be metabolized to diethyl phosphate (DEP) in the gut environment, which may affect the immune and endocrine systems and the microbiota. Correlations between OPs and diseases have been established by epidemiological studies, mainly based on the contents of their metabolites, including DEP, in the serum or urine. However, the effects of DEP require further study. Therefore, in this study, adult male rats were exposed to 0.08 or 0.13 mg/kg DEP for 20 weeks. Serum levels of hormones, lipids, and inflammatory cytokines as well as gut microbiota were measured. DEP significantly enriched opportunistic pathogens, including Paraprevotella, Parabacteroides, Alloprevotella, and Helicobacter, leading to a decrease in interleukin-6 (IL-6). Exposure to the high dose of DEP enriched the butyrate-producing genera, Alloprevotella and Intestinimonas, leading to an increase in estradiol and a resulting decrease in total triglycerides (TGs) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); meanwhile, DEP-induced increases in peptide tyrosine‒tyrosine (PYY) and ghrelin were attributed to the enrichment of short-chain fatty acid-producing Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Lactobacillus. These findings indicate that measuring the effects of DEP is not a proxy for measuring the effects of its parent compounds.

Solvent‐based paint and varnish removers: a focused toxicologic review of existing and alternative constituents

“…DEP weakly inhibits acetylcholinesterase. Recently, gut microbiome alterations were reported in male rats fed DEP, resulting in a number of hormonal, lipid and cytokine changes (Yang, Li, Pang, Ren, & Fang, 2019). TEP is somewhat structurally similar to tri-o-cresyl phosphate (TOCP), whose neurotoxic effects are well-documented (Classen, Gretener, Rauch, Weber, & Krinke, 1996;Morgan & Penovich, 1978;Song et al, 2012;Song, Yan, Zhao, Zhang, & Xie, 2009;Zhao et al, 2004).…”

Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Kang Shuai Lao Pian Improves Obesity, Gut Dysbiosis, and Fecal Metabolic Disorders in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice

“…Notably, the roles of Intestinimonas and Oscillibacter in obesity have been reported. For instance, Intestinimonas is generally considered to be a beneficial genus with butyrate-producing capacity (Yang et al, 2019); nevertheless, the enrichment of which also presents in HFD rats (Lin et al, 2019). As for Oscillibacter, it is revealed to be positively correlated with the occurrence of obesity (Chang et al, 2015;Chang et al, 2017) probably through regulating fat synthesis (Duca et al, 2014).…”

Toxicology and Microbiota: How Do Pesticides Influence Gut Microbiota? A Review

“…Inversely, diethyl phosphate exposure did not show proinflammatory effects in exposed rats. Opportunistic pathogens were found significantly enriched, but IL-6 was reduced [ 66 ]. The effects of another organophosphorus pesticide, diazinon, were evaluated in crucian carp.…”