Wnt-CAMII signalling pathway is involved in the neurotoxicity of glyphosate in cultured neurons.

COULLERY, ROMINA; ROSSO, SILVANA.

Huerta Grande

Congreso; XXVII Congreso Annual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia.; 2012

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia.

Glyphosate (Round Up) is the most common herbicide used around the world. Very few evidences have been reported about its toxicity on the nervous system in mammals. We evaluated its potential effect through in vivo and in vitro assays. We found that animals exposed to glyphosate during gestation period showed a defect on their reflex responses and the motor activity. In order to identify the mechanism of this neurotoxicity we perform assays using cultured neurons. We found that hippocampal neurons exposed to glyphosate elicit a delay on the development characterised by a decrease in axonal elongation and neuronal complexity. Wnt proteins play a critical role during nervous system development. They function as key modulators for the formation of neuronal circuits and functioning. Particularly, Wnt5a is involved in axonal growth and guidance. We observed that the expression of Wnt5a is decreased in neurons exposed to glyphosate during differentiation. To go further, we evaluated the Wnt signalling pathway involved in the glyphosate neurotoxicity. We found that glyphosate treatment lead to a decrease in the level of phospho-CAMKII in cultured neurons. Importantly, this effect was reverted when Wnt5a was added to the medium and these neurons showed a morphology similar to controls.