The Effect of Organophosphate Exposure on Neuronal Cell Coenzyme Q Status.

Organophosphate (OP) compounds are widely used as pesticides and herbicides and exposure to these compounds has been associated with both chronic and acute forms of neurological dysfunction including cognitive impairment, neurophysiological problems and cerebral ataxia with evidence of mitochondrial impairment being associated with this toxicity. In view of the potential mitochondrial impairment, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of exposure to commonly used OPs, dichlorvos, methyl-parathion (parathion) and chloropyrifos (CPF) on the cellular level of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) electron carrier, coenzyme Q (CoQ) in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The effect of a perturbation in CoQ status was also evaluated on mitochondrial function and cell viability.