Organophosphate-Pesticide-Mediated Immune Response Modulation in Invertebrates and Vertebrates

Abstract

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) have greatly facilitated food production worldwide, and their use is not limited to agriculture and the control of pests and disease vectors. However, these substances can directly affect the immune response of non-target organisms. In this sense, exposure to OPs can have negative effects on innate and adaptive immunity, promoting deregulation in humoral and cellular processes such as phagocytosis, cytokine expression, antibody production, cell proliferation, and differentiation, which are crucial mechanisms for host defense against external agents. This review focuses on the scientific evidence of exposure to OPs and their toxic effects on the immune system of non-target organisms (invertebrates and vertebrates) from a descriptive perspective of the immuno-toxic mechanisms associated with susceptibility to the development of bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases. During the exhaustive review, we found that there is an important gap in the study of non-target organisms, examples of which are echinoderms and chondrichthyans. It is therefore important to increase the number of studies on other species directly or indirectly affected by Ops, to assess the degree of impact at the individual level and how this affects higher levels, such as populations and ecosystems.