A comparative assessment of cytotoxicity of commonly used agricultural insecticides to human and insect cells

•Cytotoxicity of human and insect cells was evaluated under pesticide exposure.•Cytotoxicity varied depending on the pesticides, concentrations and cell type.•Cytotoxicity is a biomarker for pesticide exposure and risk assessment.

The cytotoxic potential of 13 commonly used agricultural insecticides was examined using cell-based systems with three human HepG2, Hek293, HeLa cells and three insect Tn5B1-4, Sf-21, and Drosophila S2 cells. Data showed that (1) an enhancement of some insecticides (e.g. pyrethroids) on cells proliferation; (2) an inhibition of some insecticides on cells viability; (3) various levels of susceptibility of different cells to the same insecticide; and (4) the cell type dependent sensitivity to different insecticides. The degree of cytotoxicity of insecticides on human cells was significantly lower than that on insect cells (P<0.05). Methomyl, even 20 μg/ml, showed little cytotoxicity at 24 h exposure whereas emamectin benzoate possessed the strongest cytotoxic potential in a dose-dependent fashion. The results revealed comparable cytotoxic property of agricultural insecticides against intact cells.

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