# Gene-Pyrethroid Interaction in Alzheimer's disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $316,650

## Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disease and the most
common cause of dementia worldwide. An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older are
currently living with AD. There is currently no cure for this disease. Age is the most important risk
factor for AD, but there are many other factors, including environmental exposures and genetic
are thought to play a profound role. However, none of them alone is the sole factor in disease
development and progression. To date, a substantial amount of effort has focused on to identify
genetic contributors to AD. Among the growing list of susceptibility genes, only the apolipoprotein
E (APOE) has been identified as an individual strong contributor to AD. Apolipoprotein E4
(APOE4) allele is considered to be the highest contributor of genetic risk to late onset AD.
Environmental exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides, are increasingly being
recognized for their ability to increase the risk of AD. Patients with AD seriously suffer from
cognitive deficits. The hippocampus is one of the most affected brain areas in AD and is a major
regulator of cognitive function. Learning and memory deficits are associated with disruption of
adult hippocampal neurogenesis in experimental animals and humans. Recent studies
demonstrate adult hippocampal neurogenesis is reduced in patients with AD. Pyrethroid
insecticides are one of the most widely used agricultural and household insecticides. Recently,
we reported that repeated adult exposure to a relatively low dose of deltamethrin (3mg/kg) causes
profound cognitive deficits in mice, which was accompanied by ER stress and marked impairment
of hippocampal neurogenesis. Further, the APOE4 genotype has been associated with enhanced
ER stress response and dysfunction of adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Here we will determine
whether repeated exposure to deltamethrin and APOE genotype interact to cause enhanced ER
stress, reduced hippocampal neurogenesis and worsened cognitive function associated with AD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10289120
- **Project number:** 3R01ES027481-06S1
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Muhammad M Hossain
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $316,650
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-12-07 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10289120

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10289120, Gene-Pyrethroid Interaction in Alzheimer's disease (3R01ES027481-06S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10289120. Licensed CC0.

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