Effects of the neurotoxic thionophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos on differentiating alternative models

► There are controversial opinions about the effects, at low doses, of Chlorpyrifos on neurodevelopment. ► We exposed to a wide range of CPF concentrations three models compatible with the 3Rs Strategy. ► We evaluated the effect of CPF on cholinesterase activity, growth and differentiation. ► We revealed that developing organisms are sensitive to CPF also at the doses found in food for children. Studies by researchers worldwide have revealed that, even in industrialised nations, people, infants and the aged in particular, are even more exposed to neurotoxic drugs as a consequence of the increased quantity of pesticide residues in food. This phenomenon, as underlined by The Worldwatch Institute (2006), is linked to the exponential increase in the use of these toxic compounds over the last 40years, up from 0.49kg per hectare in 1961 to 2kg in 2004, with the result that these substances are found in the daily diet. Many studies have demonstrated how the assumption of pesticides in the neonatal period and early infancy can alter the development and function of the nervous, immune, endocrine and reproductive apparatuses. Moreover, the unequivocal relationship between brain tumours, infant leukemia and pesticides are well recognised. On the basis of the above information, the effects of the neurotoxic thionophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) have been tested, considering biomarkers of toxicity and toxicity endpoint, on the biological models Dictyostelium discoideum, Paracentrotus lividus, and NTera2 Cells, as they are compatible with the 3Rs strategy (Reduction, Replacement, and Refinement in animal experiments). Our results have revealed that developing organisms are particularly sensitive to the toxic effects of CPF.