Dithiocarbamate fungicide zineb induces oxidative stress and apoptosis in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts

Dithiocarbamate fungicide zineb leads to disturbances in many cellular processes in Chinese hamster fibroblasts (V79 cells). We observed high apoptotic activity and oxidative stress induced in vitro by exposure of V79 cells to zineb demonstrated by statistically significant increase in lipid peroxidation (measured as TBARS – thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) as well as disturbances in glutathione homeostasis. Zineb also inhibited activity of topoisomerase I. Zineb did not show any effect on protein oxidation (measured by protein carbonyls content). N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) suppressed cellular changes induced by this fungicide in V79 cells. NAC pre-treatment prevented TBARS production and significantly decreased the number of apoptotic cells induced by zineb. These results show that zineb can disturb many cellular processes via oxidative damage.

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► Zineb induces disturbances in glutathione homeostasis and lipid peroxidation in Chinese hamster fibroblasts (V79 cells).
► It shows proapoptotic activity with concomitant inhibition topoisomerase I activity.
► Pre-treatment with N-acetyl-l-cysteine protects V79 cells against zineb-induced cellular oxidative damages.