Chlorpyrifos (CPF) biocide, exposure to which is mainly produced in the human population through diet, induces several neurotoxic effects. CPF single and repeated exposure induces memory and learning disorders, although the mechanisms that produce these outcomes are complex and not well understood. CPF treatment (single and repeated) of cholinergic septal SN56 cells induced an increase in phosphorylated-P38α levels that led to WNT/β-Catenin and NGF/P75NTR/TrkA pathways disruption and cell death. These results provide new knowledge on the mechanisms that mediate CPF basal forebrain cholinergic neuronal loss induced by CPF single and repeated exposure and can help unravel the way through which this compound produces cognitive decline and develop efficient treatments against these effects.
Keywords: NGF/P75NTR/TrkA pathway; P38α; WNT/β-Catenin pathway; basal forebrain cholinergic neurons; chlorpyrifos.