Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Fibroblasts--Effect of chemicals on; Pesticides--Physiological effect; Academic theses;
Abstract
Pesticides are widely used in Iowa due to its primarily agricultural economy. Many studies have shown that the water sources in Iowa are contaminated by multiple pesticides. Most of the information about the adverse human health effects due to such environmental contaminants comes from studies that focus on exposure to single rather than multiple pesticides. Additionally, many of the environmental regulations regarding levels of pesticide contamination refer only to single, individual pesticides. Many questions remain about the human health effects of exposure to pesticide combinations. This study attempts to understand the effects of pesticide combinations on human cells. A cell proliferation assay was performed with normal human fibroblast cells to test the toxicity of several of the most heavily used pesticides in the United States. The pesticides used were atrazine, metolachlor and diazinon, either alone or in combinations. Results demonstrated that there was a statistically significant change in cell proliferation even at very low pesticide levels with all three pesticides individually and the cell toxicity was increased in the presence of combinations. To determine if exposure of the pesticides on human cells resulted in cell cycle alterations, western blot analysis was performed to determine levels of the cell cycle protein p53. Results demonstrated that the levels of protein p53 were altered in the presence of pesticides and their combinations compared to unexposed control cells.
Year of Submission
2003
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Department of Biology
First Advisor
Kavita Dhanwada
Second Advisor
Edward J. Brown
Third Advisor
Maureen E. Clayton
Date Original
2003
Object Description
1 PDF file (72 leaves)
Copyright
©2003 Yijun Deng
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Deng, Yijun, "Effects of Pesticides and Their Combinations on Human Fibroblast Cells" (2003). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2478.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2478
Comments
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