Effect of paraoxonase 1 192 Q/R polymorphism on paraoxonase and acetylcholinesterase enzyme activities in a Turkish population exposed to organophosphate

Organophosphate (OP) compounds are the most commonly used pesticide groups and they are commercially used in the market for local and industrial purposes. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzyme plays an important role in biotransformation of OP compounds, which shows toxic effects via inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of PON1 gene polymorphism and its effects on PON and AChE enzyme activities in individuals who were exposed to organophosphorus insecticides due to occupational reasons, and to profile the probability of susceptibility to organophosphorus compounds. For this purpose, 54 individuals who were exposed to OPs and 54 healthy unrelated controls were studied. First, PON1 and AChE enzyme activities were measured. Second, PON1 192 Q/R polymorphism was determined by standard polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. When the PON1 192 Q/R polymorphism was compared with PON1 enzyme activities, statistically significant association was found in both OP-exposed and control groups ( p < 0.05). PON1 192 R(+) (QR + RR genotypes) genotype carriers had higher PON1 activities than 192 R(−) (QQ) genotype carriers. On the other hand, results were statistically analyzed in terms of AChE enzyme activities and there were statistically significant differences only in the OP-exposed group ( p < 0.05). The mean AChE concentration in the OP-exposed group was determined as 33.79 ± 6.84 U/g haemoglobin (Hb) for PON1 192 R(+) carriers and 30.37 ± 7.62 U/g Hb for PON1 192 R(+) carriers. As a conclusion, PON1 and AChE activities were increasing according to the genotypes found in individuals having been exposed to OPs at a chronic level; 192 R(+) > 192 R(−), respectively.