Interaction between postnatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and PON1 genetic polymorphisms on neuropsychological performance in school children

Introduction: The interaction between postnatal organophosphate exposure and children PON1 genetic polymorphisms on neuropsychological performance was evaluated in scholar children living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study in school children aged 6-11years (n=305) randomly selected from public schools. Exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OPs) was assessed by measuring urinary levels of six non-specific OPs metabolites (dyalkylphosphates, DAPs) at two time-points of the same crop season, representing low and high pesticide use. DAPs were measured by Gas Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) was used to assess cognitive abilities. Genomic DNA was isolated and amplified by PCR. Hydrolysis probes were used for the detection of PON1 Q192R, PON1 L55M, PON1 C-108T by using TaqMan® Assay-based real-time PCR. The association between total DAPs levels and WISC-IV scores was assessed using generali...