From immunotoxicity to carcinogenicity: the effects of carbamate pesticides on the immune system.

The immune system can be the target of many chemicals, with potentially severe adverse effects on the host's health. In the literature, carbamate (CM) pesticides have been implicated in the increasing prevalence of diseases associated with alterations of the immune response, such as hypersensitivity reactions, some autoimmune diseases and cancers. CMs may initiate, facilitate, or exacerbate pathological immune processes, resulting in immunotoxicity by induction of mutations in genes coding for immunoregulatory factors and modifying immune tolerance. In the present study, direct immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption and inhibition of esterases activities have been introduced as the main mechanisms of CMs-induced immune dysregulation. Moreover, the evidence on the relationship between CM pesticide exposure, dysregulation of the immune system and predisposition to different types of cancers, allergies, autoimmune and infectious diseases is criticized. In addition, in this review, we will discuss the relationship between immunotoxicity and cancer, and the advances made toward understanding the basis of cancer immune evasion.

A minireview on N-acetylcysteine: An old drug with new approaches.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a cysteine pro-drug and glutathione precursor has been used in therapeutic practices for several decades, as a mucolytic agent and for the treatment of numerous disorders including paracetamol intoxication. There is a growing interest concerning the beneficial effects of NAC against the early stages of toxicity-induced by pesticides. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic and clinical applications of NAC are not fully understood. In this review we aimed to focus on the protective effects of NAC against oxidative stress caused by pesticide in many organs. The possible mechanisms of action may be associated to its antioxidant properties. The anti-oxidative activity of NAC has been attributed to the fast reaction with free radicals as well as the restitution of reduced glutathione (GSH).