ArticlePloS one2009
Chronic exposure to the herbicide, atrazine, causes mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance.
Article in PloS one, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03597438 (Mitochondrial Targeted Biofuels as Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats), which is not on this map. Cited by 96 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Mitochondrial Targeted Biofuels as Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats
Who cites it
96 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 245 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis and experimental validation identified atrazine as a toxicant in the male reproductive system.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Pooled it
- Translational Gaps in Assessing the Obesogenic Effects of Herbicides: A Scoping Review.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Review
- Insulin resistance induced by pesticides is overcome by pancreatic islet adaptation in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.Molecular metabolism · 2026Article
- Natural variation suggests candidate genes underlying Caenorhabditis elegans susceptibility to diverse toxicants.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026Article
- Article
- Weighty Consequences: Pollution's Hidden Weight in the Obesity Epidemic: A Narrative Review.Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- Article
- Environmental Insults to Glucose Metabolism: The Role of Pollutants in Insulin Resistance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Manganese mitigates atrazine-induced oxidative stress and hepatorenal toxicity: insights from network pharmacology and in vivo experimentation.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Herbicide-related health risks: key mechanisms and a guide to mitigation strategies.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025Review
- Astragaloside IV ameliorates atrazine-induced male reproductive toxicity: anFrontiers in toxicology · 2025Article
- Reduced bioenergetics and mitochondrial fragmentation in human primary cytotrophoblasts induced by an EGFR-targeting chemical mixture.Chemosphere · 2024Article
- Developmental regulation of cellular metabolism is required for intestinal elongation and rotation.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Quantitative imaging and semiotic phenotyping of mitochondrial network morphology in live human cells.PloS one · 2024Article
- Adverse developmental impacts in progeny of zebrafish exposed to the agricultural herbicide atrazine during embryogenesis.Environment international · 2023Article
- Polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, pesticides, and diabetes in the Anniston Community Health Survey follow-up (ACHS II): single exposure and mixture analysis approaches.The Science of the total environment · 2023Article
- Atrazine Toxicity: The Possible Role of Natural Products for Effective Treatment.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Atrazine: cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, testicular effects and chemopreventive Interventions.Frontiers in toxicology · 2023Review
- Quantitative assessment of mitochondrial morphology relevant for studies on cellular health and environmental toxicity.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2023Article
36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is an apparent overlap between areas in the USA where the herbicide, atrazine (ATZ), is heavily used and obesity-prevalence maps of people with a BMI over 30. Given that herbicides act on photosystem II of the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts, which have a functional structure similar to mitochondria, we investigated whether chronic exposure to low concentrations of ATZ might cause obesity or insulin resistance by damaging mitochondrial function. Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48) were treated for 5 months with low concentrations (30 or 300 microg kg(-1) day(-1)) of ATZ provided in drinking water. One group of animals was fed a regular diet for the entire period, and another group of animals was fed a high-fat diet (40% fat) for 2 months after 3 months of regular diet. Various parameters of insulin resistance were measured. Morphology and functional activities of mitochondria were evaluated in tissues of ATZ-exposed animals and in isolated mitochondria. Chronic administration of ATZ decreased basal metabolic rate, and increased body weight, intra-abdominal fat and insulin resistance without changing food intake or physical activity level. A high-fat diet further exacerbated insulin resistance and obesity. Mitochondria in skeletal muscle and liver of ATZ-treated rats were swollen with disrupted cristae. ATZ blocked the activities of oxidative phosphorylation complexes I and III, resulting in decreased oxygen consumption. It also suppressed the insulin-mediated phosphorylation of Akt. These results suggest that long-term exposure to the herbicide ATZ might contribute to the development of insulin resistance and obesity, particularly where a high-fat diet is prevalent.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.