Action of pyrethroids on a nerve-muscle preparation of the clawed frog,Xenopus laevis

The effects of a range of pyrethroids on end-plate potentials and muscle action potentials were studied in the pectoralis nerve-muscle preparation of the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. The noncyano pyrethroids allethrin, cismethrin, bioresmethrin, and IR-cisphenothrin caused moderate presynaptic repetitive activity only, resulting in the occurrence of multiple end-plate potentials (epps). Trains of repetitive muscle action potentials without presynaptic repetitive activity were observed after the α-ethynyl pyrethroid S-5655 and after the α-cyano pyrethroids cypermethrin, deltamethrin, FCR 1272, and FCR 2769. An intermediate group of pyrethroids consisting of the non-cyano compounds 1R-permethrin, des-cyano-deltamethrin, NAK 1901 and NAK 1963, and the α-cyano pyrethroids cyphenothrin and fenvalerate caused both types of effect. The insecticidally inactive S-enantiomers of permethrin had no effect on the nerve-muscle preparation. Trains of repetitive action potentials in pyrethroid-treated muscle fibers were followed by a depolarizing afterpotential which in general decayed more rapidly for the non-cyano pyrethroids than for the α-cyano pyrethroids. The rate of decay of the depolarizing afterpotential decreased gradually as the temperature was lowered, whereas the pre- and postsynaptic repetitive activity remained largely unaffected over a large temperature range. It is concluded that in muscle membrane like in nerve membrane the pyrethroid-induced repetitive activity is due to a prolongation of the sodium current and that a clear distinction between non-cyano pyrethroids on the one hand and α-cyano compounds on the other cannot be made on the basis of the present results.     

Pyrethroid resistance in a strain of Spodoptera littoralis is correlated with decreased sensitivity of the CNS in vitro

The effects of permethrin and cypermethrin on the isolated abdominal nerve cord of insecticide-resistant [R] and -susceptible [S] strains of Spodoptera littoralis larvae have been studied. Above ca. 19°C, permethrin at 10^?7M caused a prolonged spike train to follow electrical stimulation of the nerve cord. The time of onset of this repetitive firing was significantly greater for the [R] strain. Moreover, cypermethrin, to which this strain shows negligible resistance, did not cause such repetitive discharges. Thus, resistance to permethrin but not to cypermethrin appears to be based on a qualitative difference between the pyrethroids. Nerve blockage by the two pyrethroids was also investigated, with particular reference to temperature. Once again, differences were apparent: when considered relative to untreated controls, permethrin caused quicker nerve blockage as temperature was reduced whereas the blocking action of cypermethrin was not affected by temperature. However, the times taken to cause nerve blockage by permethrin in [R] and [S] larvae were not significantly different, making it unlikely that nerve blockage plays a major role in this resistance. Two methods were employed to reduce the resistance factor in vitro. The synergist dodecyl imidazole failed to significantly reduce the time taken for permethrin to cause either repetitive firing or nerve blockage. However, reducing the calcium concentration in the saline did significantly reduce the latency of repetitive firing caused by permethrin in [R] larvae, thus increasing the nerve sensitivity to approximately the same level as normal calcium, [S] insects.     

Symptomatic and neurophysiological activities of new synthetic non-ester pyrethroids,ethofenprox, MTI-800, and related compounds

Ethofenprox (MTI-500), MTI-800, and related compounds, which have a m-phenoxybenzyl moiety but lack ester bonding, were compared with DDT-type compounds and pyrethroid insecticides for their lethal and convulsive activities toward American cockroaches. The most potent among them ranked between phenothrin and cyphenothrin. Neurophysiological effects were also examined by extra- and intracellular recording and voltage clamp techniques. Some derivatives induced repetitive discharges in the excised central nerve cord of the American cockroach. The after-potential recorded intracellularly from the crayfish giant axon was markedly increased by some compounds. Voltage clamp experiments with the crayfish giant axon showed that ethofenprox decreased the peak sodium current and induced a large residual current during a step depolarization. It also induced a large and prolonged tail current after a step repolarization of the membrane. The effects of the test compounds on the action potential and the sodium current were similar to those of DDT-type compounds and the pyrethroids such as allethrin and phenothrin. A shift of sodium channel population from normal to modified was thought to result in modifications of the sodium current which, in turn, cause the increase in after-potential and the induction of repetitive discharges.     

Kinetics of sodium channel modification as the basis for the variation in the nerve membrane effects of pyrethroids and DDT analogs

The effects of a wide range of pyrethroids and DDT analogs on the membrane potential and membrane sodium currents were studied in crayfish giant axons. Compounds differed greatly in their ability to produce depolarizing afterpotentials, repetitive firing, and membrane depolarization. The differences observed at the membrane potential level could be explained by differences in the kinetics with which the insecticides interact with the nerve membrane sodium channel. The compounds containing a cyano group at the α position retain sodium channels in a modified open state persistently, depolarize the membrane, and block the action potential without causing repetitive firing. The pyrethroids without an α-cyano group and DDT analogs retain sodium channels in a modified open state only transiently, cause large depolarizing afterpotentials, and evoke repetitive firing with minimal effect on the resting potential. The effects of the phenoxybenzyl pyrethroids were found to be intermediate between these two extremes suggesting that a continuous variation exists in kinetics with which pyrethroids and DDT analogs modify sodium channels. It was not necessary to assume a second site of action to account for the variability observed. The implications of these results to the construction of quantitative structure-activity relationships is discussed.     

Structure-related effects of pyrethroid insecticides on the lateral-line sense organ and on peripheral nerves of the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis

The effects of seven different pyrethroid insecticides on the lateral-line sense organ and on peripheral nerves of the clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, were investigated by means of electrophysiological methods. The results show that two classes of pyrethroid can be clearly distinguished. (i) Pyrethroids without an α-cyano group (permethrin, cismethrin, and bioresmethrin). These noncyano pyrethroids induce short trains of nerve impulses in the lateral-line sense organ. In peripheral nerve branches they induce a depolarizing afterpotential and repetitive firing. These effects are very similar to those previously reported for allethrin. (ii) Pyrethroids with an α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol (cypermethrin, fenpropathrin, deltamethrin, and fenvalerate). In the lateral-line sense organ these α-cyano pyrethroids induce very long trains of nerve impulses which may last for seconds and may contain hundreds or even thousands of impulses. The α-cyano compounds do not cause repetitive activity in peripheral nerves. Instead they induce a quickly reversible, stimulus frequency-dependent suppression of the action potential. Since the chemical structure of cypermethrin differs from that of permethrin only in the α-cyano group and because all four α-cyano compounds act in a very similar way, it is concluded that the α-cyano substituent is responsible for the large differences in neurotoxic effects. In the lateral-line sense organ the duration of nerve impulse trains induced by the noncyano as well as the α-cyano pyrethroids increases dramatically when the temperature is lowered. Further, in sensory fibers the effects of both classes of pyrethroid on the nerve action potential are more pronounced compared to their effects on motor fibers. It is argued that the different neurotoxic effects reported here originate from a common mechanism of action of pyrethroids, which is a prolongation of the transient increase of sodium permeability of the nerve membrane associated with excitation.It is concluded that the sodium channel in the nerve membrane is the major target site of noncyano and α-cyano pyrethroids.     

The effects of two pyrethroids,cismethrin and deltamethrin,on skeletal muscle and the trigeminal reflex system in the rat

The actions of a cyano pyrethroid (deltamethrin) and a non-cyano pyrethroid (cismethrin) upon trigeminal motor reflexes and isolated muscle responses were studied in the rat. Deltamethrin caused a marked facilitation of the muscle response to nerve stimulation in pithed rats at 2.5 μmol kg⁻¹. In intact anaesthetised rats this was associated with abnormal repetitive EMG discharges and, at 4 μmol kg⁻¹ with a suppression of late components of the reflex response to sensory stimuli in the spinal trigeminal nucleus and trigeminal motor nucleus. In contrast cismethrin had no effect on the muscle response to direct nerve stimulation at up to 15 μmol kg⁻¹, but produced abnormal extra responses to sensory stimuli in the trigeminal ganglion, spinal and motor nuclei, and jaw muscles at 9 μmol kg⁻¹. It is concluded that whilst deltamethrin produces reflex excitation within the trigeminal system at a primarily muscular site, cismethrin produces excitation at all stages of the reflex loop. This contrast is consistent with the known difference in duration of sodium current prolongation produced by the two pyrethroids. These findings, together with other known central actions of deltamethrin suggest that it has multiple sites of action in the intact animal, both central and peripheral, whilst most of the simpler symptoms produced by cismethrin may adequately be explained by action at a reflex level.     

The importance of nerve terminal depolarization in pyrethroid poisoning of insects

The effects of several pyrethroids and DDT were examined on neuromuscular preparations from larvae of Musca domestica, Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles stephensi, and Trichoplusia ni, in order to determine the importance of the type I effect (repetitive firing) and the type II effect (increased miniature excitatory postsynaptic potential (mepsp) rate, indicating nerve terminal depolarization) in the poisoning process. α-Cyano pyrethroids were very potent in increasing mepsp rate, and although DDT and non-α-cyano compounds were more potent at inducing repetitive firing, all these compounds increased mepsp rate at higher concentrations. A variety of evidence showed that the mepsp rate-increasing activity could be an important factor in toxicity: among all of the compounds, there was a positive correlation between toxicity and mepsp rate-increasing activity; mepsp rate-increasing activity had a negative temperature dependence; nerves of kdr larvae in vitro were resistant to the mepsp rate-increasing activity, commensurate with resistance level; and finally, increased mepsp rate and neuromuscular block were observed in poisoned insects, associated with paralysis. Among type I compounds, repetitive firing activity was correlated negatively with toxicity, but positively with knockdown activity.     

Nerve membrane as a target of pyrethroids

Nerve membrane is one of the most important target sites of pyrethroids. Changes in excitability of nerve fibres caused by allethrin can be satisfactorily accounted for in terms of ionic permeabilities of the membrane. Temperature has a profound effect on the allethrin-induced permeability changes.     

Insecticides and electrophysiological symptoms: A comparative study on a tarsal motor nerve of Locusta migratoria

Spontaneous discharges of a tarsal motor nerve preparation of the jumping leg of Locusta migratoria were recorded extracellularly under the influence of various insecticides applied to the in situ metathoracic ganglion of the insect. Insecticides from different chemical classes were found to exhibit rather specific electrophysiological symptoms: cholinesterase inhibitors produced groups of action potentials with highly increased frequencies, and led to the appearance of new units which were not present in untreated control insects. They also caused transitory phases of conduction blocks, the length of which increased as intoxication proceeded. The DDT analog tested could be characterized by pronounced repetitive dischanges, whereas the neuroactivity of pyrethroids was typically associated with a very regular spike pattern in continuous phases of extremely high frequencies. Also chlordimeform, a formamidine insecticide, was found to increase the spike frequency, but to a much lesser extent than that observed for the other insecticides tested.     

Quantitative structure-activity studies of substituted benzyl chrysanthemates: 9. Calcium uptake inhibition in crayfish nerve cord and lobster axon homogenates in vitro by sunthetic pyrethroids

Twenty-five synthetic pyrethroids and related chemicals were assessed for their effects on the uptake of Ca²⁺ (as ⁴⁵Ca²⁺) by crude homogenates prepared from crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) nerve cords and 20 were assessed on the uptake by homogenates prepared from lobster (Panulirus japonicus) axons. A parabolic relationship was demonstrated between inhibition of Ca²⁺ uptake for this series of chemicals and lipophilicity (log P) in both species when tested at 5 μM. Optimal log P for maximal inhibition was located at about 6.6 and 84(±6)% inhibition was obtained with resmethrin. Compounds of higher or lower log P were either weaker inhibitors, not inhibitors or occasionally resulted in slightly increased levels of Ca²⁺ uptake. No direct correlations between the potential for the pyrethroids to inhibit Ca²⁺ uptake and the potential for these agents to increase the frequency of spontaneous discharges in crayfish nerve cords, to induce repetitive firing in American cockroaches, or the lethality to cockroaches or to any other neurophysiological or toxicity parameter could be established. It was concluded that although some synthetic pyrethroids are moderately potent inhibitors of Ca²⁺ uptake into nerve cord and axonic preparations (i.e., I₅₀ for trans-resmethrin equals 1 μM) this inhibition alone does not relate to the neurophysiological changes in isolated nerve preparations or to the toxicity of these agents in insects.     

Structure-activity relationships of pyrethroids based on direct action on nerve

The structure-activity relationships of 30 synthetic pyrethroids have been studied by measurements of their direct action on isolated crayfish nerve cord. The concentrations of pyrethroids used to increase the frequency of spontaneous discharges to 200% of the control (NS₂₀₀), those to decrease the frequency back to the control level, and those to further decrease the frequency to 10% of the control were measured as indexes of the nerve action. These values did not necessarily run parallel with those for the lethal dose 50 or the knock-down 50. Large differences in NS₂₀₀ were found among optical isomers of tetramethrin and phenothrin, and there was a synergism with respect to the nerve stimulating action between (+) and (?) forms of tetramethrin. (+)-trans-Permethrin was unique in that it exhibited a potent insecticidal action with a very weak nerve action. It is necessary to compare the direct action on the target site for the purpose of establishing the true structure-activity relationships of synthetic pyrethroids.     

Neural and behavioral correlates of pyrethroid and DDT-type poisoning in the house fly, Musca domestica L

Intact house flies were observed during poisoning caused by several pyrethroid and DDT-type insecticides. The two insecticide classes could be generally distinguished from each other based on differences in symptoms and several physiological correlates. Both insecticide types caused motor unit repetitive backfiring, but the temporal development and stability of repetitiveness were distinctly different between the two classes. Repetitive backfiring always disappeared at low temperatures, but DDT-type backfiring disappeared at lower temperatures than the pyrethroids. trans-Tetramethrin caused a threshold increase in flight motor nerve endings which did not occur in DDT or trans-Barthrin poisoning. Pyrethroids caused “uncoupling” of the flight motor pattern, while DDT-types did not. trans-Barthrin, a methylenedioxyphenyl pyrethroid, was unique in causing both symptoms and physiological aberrations which more closely resembled those of the DDT-types than the pyrethroids.     

Actions of pyrethroid insecticides on insect axonal sodium channels

The actions of pyrethroid insecticides were tested on isolated giant axons of the cockroach Periplaneta americana, using oil-gap, single-fibre recording techniques. Current-clamp and voltage-clamp experiments were used to determine the actions of pyrethroids on axonal membrane potentials and ionic currents. Treatment with deltamethrin at micromolar concentrations caused gradual depolarisation of the axon accompanied by a reduction in amplitude of the action potential. This depolarisation was enhanced by an increase in stimulation frequency. Other synthetic pyrethroids: 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalimidomethyl (1RS)-cis-3-[(RS)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropyl]-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate, biopermethrin and its (1S)-enantiomer, (1R)-tetramethrin, S-bioallethrin, bioresmethrin and its (1S)-enantiomer, cismethrin, and 5-benzyl-3-furylmethyl (E)-(1R)-cis-2,2-dimethyl-3-(2-oxothiolan-3-ylidenemethyl)cyclopropanecarboxylate (RU-15525, ‘Kadethrin’) were investigated. The (1S)-enantiomers were inactive, but all the other pyrethroids tested, apart from deltamethrin, induced prolonged negative (depolarising) after-potentials. All the treatments with the active pyrethroids resulted in the appearance of a voltage and time-dependent ‘maintained’ sodium conductance. The duration of this ‘slow’ conductance varied considerably depending on the pyrethroid under test. Clearly, the effectiveness of pyrethroids on whole insects is not determined only by the degree to which they directly modify the properties of sodium channels. Nevertheless, voltage-clamp experiments on isolated axons readily permit direct comparison of the actions of different pyrethroids on the sodium channels of insect neurones.     

State-dependent modification of voltage-gated sodium channels by pyrethroids

Pyrethroids disrupt nerve function by altering the rapid kinetic transitions between conducting and nonconducting states of voltage-gated sodium channels that underlie the generation of nerve action potentials. Recent studies of pyrethroid action on cloned insect and mammalian sodium channel isoforms expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes show that in some cases pyrethroid modification is either absolutely dependent on or significantly enhanced by repeated channel activation. These use-dependent effects have been interpreted as evidence of preferential binding of at least some pyrethroids to the open, rather than resting, state of the sodium channel. This paper reviews the evidence for state-dependent modification of insect and mammalian sodium channels expressed in oocytes by pyrethroids and considers the implications of state-dependent effects for understanding the molecular mechanism of pyrethroid action and the development and testing of models of the pyrethroid receptor.     

The action of allethrin on the peripheral nervous system of the frog

A study was made of the neurotoxic effects of the pyrethroid insecticide allethrin on the peripheral nervous system of the frog by means of electrophysiological techniques. The principal action of allethrin is to induce repetitive activity, not only in sensory nerve fibres and in sense organs, but also in the distal part of the motor fibres, leading to pronounced repetition in the motor end-plate. Measured by the number of repetitive nerve impulses allethrin shows a marked negative temperature coefficient of activity in the lateral-line sense organ and in the motor nerve terminal.     

Evidence for different mechanisms of action of the three pyrethroids,deltamethrin, cypermethrin,and fenvalerate,on the excitation threshold of myelinated nerve

The effects of three α-cyano pyrethroids (deltamethrin, fenvalerate, and cypermethrin) on the electrophysiological function of single myelinated nerve fibers from Rana esculenta were investigated. The time course of pyrethroid-induced changes on the threshold interval, V_s − V_m (V_s: threshold voltage; V_m: membrane potential), as well as stationary membrane parameters determining this interval was measured on the same nerve preparation (membrane potential V_m, stationary transition voltage V_Tr, stationary sodium conductance). The results suggest that the mechanisms of changing the threshold interval are different for the three pyrethroids. Deltamethrin and cypermethrin increase this interval until inexcitability, deltamethrin by increasing the stationary sodium conductance and cypermethrin by blocking the sodium conductance. Fenvalerate, however, insignificantly affects the threshold interval because both V_m and V_s are shifted parallel by about the same amount in the same direction (depolarization). These qualitatively different effects of chemically related substances differentiate the pyrethroids from other classes of substances which are effective on the nerve function and suggests that the molecular mechanisms underlying the pyrethroid effects might have a unique quality.     

Effects of the pyrethroids bioallethrin,deltamethrin and RU-15525 on the electrical activity of a cuticular mechanoreceptor of the cockroach Periplaneta americana

A study has been made of the effects of bioallethrin, RU-15525 [5-benzyl-3-furylmethyl (1R)-cis-2,2-dimethyl-3-(tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-thienylidenemethyl)-cyclopropanecarboxylate, ‘Kadethrin’], and deltamethrin on the electrical activity, measured in vivo, of a cuticular mechanoreceptor of Periplaneta americana. The modifications induced by these pyrethroids on the membrane excitability can be classified into two groups: Type I effects (bioallethrin) are characterised by a substantial increase in the number of action potentials triggered at the initiation site by a given mechanical stimulation, by an electrical activity persisting after mechanical stimulus has been stopped (repetitive activity), and possibly, by an inhibition of excitability of the cell membrane. Type II effects (RU-15525 and deltamethrin), are characterised by an inhibition of the excitability of the initiation site. In the case of RU-15525, there was a transient spontaneous electrical activity. Both types of effects have been linked to an action on the sodium channel, particularly at the initiation site. The preparation studied, which possessed no synapses, was shown to be more sensitive to deltamethrin (which is also the most insecticidal of the three pyrethroids) than to either allethrin or RU-15525. These results suggest that it is unnecessary to envisage a main target (sodium channel) that is different for the two types of pyrethroid.     

南京小菜蛾对拟除虫菊酯的抗性机制

通过解毒酶活性测定与钠离子通道基因片段的克隆、测序,研究了南京小菜蛾对拟除虫菊酯产生高水平抗性的生化和分子机制。结果表明,南京抗性种群的酯酶和多功能氧化酶O-脱甲基活性分别是敏感种群的1.06和1.16倍,无显著差异;以2,4二硝基氯苯(CDNB)和1,2-二氯-4-硝基苯(DCNB)为底物,南京抗性种群的谷胱甘肽S-转移酶活性分别是敏感种群的0.68倍和1.03倍;进一步利用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)分别从敏感和抗性小菜蛾基因组DNA中扩增出了位于钠离子通道结构域IIS6的232bp和248bp的DNA片段;与敏感种群相比,南京抗性种群钠离子通道基因存在一个保守性点突变,即C突变为T,并导致亮氨酸突变为苯丙氨酸,表明神经不敏感性是南京小菜蛾对拟除虫菊酯产生高水平抗性的主要机制。     

Neurotoxic implications of the agonistic action of CS-syndrome pyrethroids on the N-type Ca(v)2.2 calcium channel

BACKGROUND: Cismethrin (T-syndrome) and deltamethrin (CS-syndrome) pyrethroids have been previously shown to increase membrane depolarization and calcium influx, but only deltamethrin increased Ca(2+)-dependent neurotransmitter release from rat brain synaptosomes. Deltamethrin's action was blocked by omega-conotoxin GVIA, delineating a separate action at N-type Ca(v)2.2 channels that is consistent with the in vivo release of neurotransmitter. It is hypothesized that other CS-syndrome pyrethroids will elicit similar actions at presynaptic nerve terminals.RESULTS: Nine additional pyrethroids were similarly examined, and these data were used in a cluster analysis. CS-syndrome pyrethroids that possessed alpha-cyano groups, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and esfenvalerate, all caused Ca(2+) influx and neurotransmitter release and clustered with two other alpha-cyano pyrethroids, cyfluthrin and cyhalothrin, that shared these same actions. T-syndrome pyrethroids, bioallethrin, cismethrin and fenpropathrin, did not share these actions and clustered with two non-alpha-cyano pyrethroids, tefluthin and bifenthrin, which likewise did not elicit these actions. Deltamethrin reduced peak current of heterologously expressed wild-type Ca(v)2.2, increased peak current of T422E Ca(v)2.2 and was 20-fold more potent on T422E Ca(v)2.2 than on wild-type channels, indicating that the permanently phosphorylated form of Ca(v)2.2 is the preferred target.CONCLUSIONS: Ca(v)2.2 is directly modified by deltamethrin, but the resulting perturbation is dependent upon its phosphorylation state. The present findings may provide a partial explanation for the different toxic syndromes produced by these structurally distinct pyrethroids.     

Quantitative structure-activity relationships of insecticidal diphenyldichlorocyclopropanes

Neurophysiological activity of a series of aromatic-substituted 1,1-diphenyl-2,2-dichlorocyclopropanes (DCC analogs) in the induction of repetitive discharges in excised central nerve cords of the American cockroach was determined by an extracellular recording technique. Quantitative analysis using physicochemical parameters showed that variations in the activity were parabolically correlated with the van der Waals volume of aromatic substituents. Insecticidal activity of these compounds in the American cockroach under conditions where oxidative metabolic activity was inhibited by piperonyl butoxide was also determined. This was related to the repetitive nerve discharge activity, when transport factors were separated by using a hydrophobicity parameter. The analyses showed that the aromatic substituent effects on the neurophysiological activity as well as the relationship between insecticidal and neurophysiological activities are very close to those observed previously for DDT analogs including DDT, DDD, and prolan derivatives.