In vitro toxicological assessment of flumethrin’s effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Abstract

Pyrethroid pesticides are frequently used for household insect control of insects and in agriculture and livestock. Flumethrin is a pyrethroid that is used against ectoparasites in many animals. The goal of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, apoptotic, genotoxic, and estrogenic effects of flumethrin on the mammalian breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Compared with control groups, a dose-dependent decrease was observed in cell viability at concentrations of 100 µM and higher. The cytotoxic and apoptotic effects detected by LDH assay and AO/EtBr staining increased significantly at a concentration of 1000 µM. The expression of BCL2, which is an anti-apoptotic gene, significantly decreased, whereas BAX, TP53, and P21 expression significantly increased. The results of a comet assay indicated that flumethrin significantly changed tail length, tail % DNA, tail moment, and Olive tail moment in concentrations above 1 and 10 µM. In addition, a 0.1 µM concentration of flumethrin affected ERα receptor mediated cell proliferation and increased transcription of estrogen-responsive pS2 (TFF1) and progesterone receptor (PGR) genes. As a result, flumethrin-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity at a high concentration, while induced genotoxicity even at lower concentrations. Flumethrin is an endocrine disrupting insecticide with estrogenic effects at very low concentrations.

The possible cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assessment of indaziflam on HepG2 cells

“…[27][28][29] Micronucleus and comet assays are commonly used to evaluate pesticide genotoxicity on different models. [30][31][32][33] Moreover, although tested pesticide has shown negative results on a selected model organism, it can lead to positive results on other organisms. Consequently, different test systems and model organisms should be selected to observe the genotoxicity of pesticides.…”

Central themes of the relationship between pesticides and cancer: A systematic review of the literature

“…In emerging themes, a study on the relationship between exposure to pesticides as an environmental risk factor and breast cancer concluded that, when living in the vicinity of agricultural areas that use pesticides, women over 50 years of age who menstruated early had a higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to the control group (SILVA et al, 2019). In the context of breast cancer, research has been carried out with pesticides that can affect humans and animals, used in agriculture and livestock, such as flumethrin, classified as a pyrethroid for insect control (KARA-ERTEKIN et al, 2021) and chlorpyrifos, one of the most used in extensive agriculture, that is, characterized by using rudimentary or traditional techniques in production (LASAGNA et al, 2020).…”