PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES TO COUNTERBALANCE FOOD PESTICIDE EFFECT ON EPIGENOME AND GUT MICROBIOTA

Food pesticide residues have been identified in food as well as in people’s urine [1]. Studies on early life exposure to the food pesticide permethrin demonstrate its ability to modulate gene expression, epigenome and gut microbiota leading to long term effects later in life [2-4]. In particular, permethrin pesticide, binding to sodium channels, induces neuron depolarization which modulate DNMTs activities responsible for DNA methylation [5]. Previously, we demonstrated changes in the DNMTs in striatum of animals exposed to permethrin during brain development [2]. Besides, we observed that permethrin is able to decrease global DNA methylation and dopamine level in mothers exposed to food pesticide during early life as well as in their untreated offspring, underlining the intergenerational effect of the food pesticide [6]. Of particular interest is the evidence that permethrin exposure can also promote significantly changes in gut microbiota. With the aim to propose strategies for prevention, bioactive supplements have been studied and positive nutrigenomic effects able to counterbalance the brain and gut microbiota alterations will be discussed. References 1. Tang W, Wang D, Wang J, Wu Z, Li L, Huang M, Xu S, Yan D. Pyrethroid pesticide residues in the global environment: An overview. Chemosphere. 2018;191:990-1007. 2. Fedeli D, Montani M, Bordoni L, Galeazzi R, Nasuti C, Correia-Sá L, Domingues VF, Jayant M, Brahmachari V, Massaccesi L, Laudadio E, Gabbianelli R. In vivo and in silico studies to identify mechanisms associated with Nurr1 modulation following early life exposure to permethrin in rats. Neuroscience. 2017 Jan 6;340:411-423. 3. Nasuti C, Brunori G, Eusepi P, Marinelli L, Ciccocioppo R, Gabbianelli R. Early life exposure to permethrin: a progressive animal model of Parkinson's disease. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 2017;83:80-86. 4. Nasuti C, Coman MM, Olek RA, Fiorini D, Verdenelli MC, Cecchini C, Silvi S, Fedeli D, Gabbianelli R. Changes on fecal microbiota in rats exposed to permethrin during postnatal development. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2016; 23(11):10930-7.  5. Sharma RP, Tun N, Grayson DR (2008) Depolarization induces downregulation of DNMT1 and DNMT3a in primary cortical cultures. Epigenetics 3:74–80 6. Bordoni L, Nasuti C, Mirto M, Caradonna F, Gabbianelli R. Intergenerational Effect of Early Life Exposure to Permethrin: Changes in Global DNA Methylation and in Nurr1 Gene Expression. Toxics. 2015;3(4):451-461