Evidence for inhibition of cholinesterases in insect and mammalian nervous systems by the insect repellent deet
Vincent Corbel
,Maria Stankiewicz,C?dric Pennetier,Didier Fournier,Jure Stojan,Emmanuelle Girard,Mitko Dimitrov,Jordi Molg?,Jean-Marc Hougard and Bruno Lapied
BMC Biology2009
7:47
DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-7-47 ? Corbel et al. 2009
Received: 13 March 2009
Accepted: 5 August 2009
Published: 5 August 2009
Abstract
Background
N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) remains the gold standard for insect repellents. About 200 million people use it every year and over 8 billion doses have been applied over the past 50 years. Despite the widespread and increased interest in the use of deet in public health programmes, controversies remain concerning both the identification of its target sites at the olfactory system and its mechanism of toxicity in insects, mammals and humans. Here, we investigated the molecular target site for deet and the consequences of its interactions with carbamate insecticides on the cholinergic system.
Results
By using toxicological, biochemical and electrophysiological techniques, we show that deet is not simply a behaviour-modifying chemical but that it also inhibits cholinesterase activity, in both insect and mammalian neuronal preparations.
Deet is commonly used in combination with insecticides and we show that deet has the capacity to strengthen the toxicity of carbamates, a class of insecticides known to block acetylcholinesterase.
