Ipconazole is an antifungal agrochemical widely used in agriculture against seed diseases of rice, vegetables, and other crops; due to its easy accumulation in the environment, it poses a hazard to human, animal, and environmental health. Therefore, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of ipconazole on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells using cell viability tests (MTT), ROS production, caspase3/7 activity, and molecular assays of the biomarkers of cell death (Bax, Casp3, APAF1, BNIP3, and Bcl2); inflammasome (NLRP3, Casp1, and IL1β); inflammation (NFκB, TNFα, and IL6); and antioxidants (NRF2, SOD, and GPx). SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to ipconazole (1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 µM) for 24 h. The ipconazole, in a dose-dependent manner, reduced cell viability and produced an IC50 of 32.3 µM; it also produced an increase in ROS production and caspase3/7 enzyme activity in SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, ipconazole at 50 µM induced an overexpression of Bax, Casp3, APAF1, and BNIP3 (cell death genes); NLRP3, Casp1, and IL1B (inflammasome complex genes); and NFκB, TNFα, and IL6 (inflammation genes); it also reduced the expression of NRF2, SOD, and GPx (antioxidant genes). Our results show that ipconazole produces cytotoxic effects by reducing cell viability, generating oxidative stress, and inducing cell death in SH-SY5Y cells, so ipconazole exposure should be considered as a factor in the presentation of neurotoxicity or neurodegeneration.
Keywords: cell death; ipconazole; neurotoxicity; oxidative stress.