ARIF AHMAD PANDIT, C.S. MUKHOPADHYAY, RAMNEEK AND R.S. SETHI
Abstract
Post agricultural revolution, pesticide usage increased throughout the globe. The reason for the rampant pesticide usage is limited land availability for cultivation in order to double the farmers income. An Indian pesticide industry is also now touching new heights coupled with the fact India is the breeding ground for new age pests due to its warm, humid and tropical climate. Unintentional pesticide exposures are detrimental to human and animal health with respiratory problems often related to it. Pesticide exposures have been associated with marked immune dysregulation and adverse cytokine profiles suggesting immune system the primary target of toxic effect of many pesticides. To investigate the effect of fipronil on the immune status of lungs we examined the expression of VCAM-1 by qPCR in the lung tissue of mice. The results demonstrated that fipronil at a chronic exposure for 90 days increased the expression of VCAM-1compared to the control. These results suggest that fipronil alters the immune status of lungs leading to inflammation.