The use of Atrazine as a common herbicide has severally raised unending debates. The question of whether the substance is safe or has negative effects on users continues to elicit mixed reactions on various sections of the society. This results from inconsistence among the different studies carried out to clear the air.
Like many others, this study employed the Xenopus Laevis approach to determine the effects of Atrazine on vertebrates’ organ development and functionality after an exposure. The overall conclusion was that there were explicit organ malformations when amphibian tadpoles were exposed to Atrazine during the process of organ development.
Atrazine exposure increases the activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) which are fundamental proteins in gene transcription. MMPs’ main role is the remodeling of extra-cellular matrix in which case they play specific roles in specific tissues and also occur at specific stages of morphogenesis. Being stage specific, the experiments were carried out at the very stage of expression of MMPs during tissue development.
Atrazine exposure affected the activities and expressions of all MMPs (MMP2, MMP9TH,MMP11, MMP13 and MMP18). It was also determined that the different categories of MMPs reacted at different levels of dosage. In addition to direct effects, it was also determined that Atrazine affected the enzyme activity of the MMPs. When the tadpoles were exposed to Atrazine, there was a significant decrease in gelatinolytic activity at 92kDa.
In addition, exposure to Atrazine leads to misregulation of retinoic acid signaling. Given the roles of RAR and RXR, misregulations would lead to a disrupted formation of the neural and digestive tissues. After being exposed to high levels of Atrazine, the tadpoles exhibited a conspicuous decrease in Xcyp26 and XRALDH2 expressions.
These two types of retinoic acids play a pivotal role in intestine tissue formation. A disruption on them hence leads to great malformations to the intestines. Notably, the effects of Atrazine exposure are dose and time specific. Longer periods of exposure and higher dosages exhibited higher reaction towards the chemical. For instance, figure 3 shows that the percentage of reduction of expression within the intestine increased with the increase in dosage of Atrazine.
The experiments in this clearly support the hypothesis that exposure to Atrazine leads to organ malformations in vertebrates. Every organ in the body of an organism is made up of tissues. Disruptions in the formation of tissues hence translate to the disruption in the organ formation and functionality.
Atrazine exposure has proved, through these experiments, that it causes misregulation of important proteins (MMPs) and retinoic acids (Xcyp26 and XRALDH2) which play a pivotal role in gene transcription and intestine tissue formation respectively. Structurally, acute exposure led to disruption of differentiated cartilage ad muscles while at the same time distorting the formation of the cranial cartilage.
Considering the process and the results of the experiments, it is clear that the hypothesis of the research was well supported. The experiments included dosage and duration considerations hence offering conclusive results. Furthermore, the experiments were given stage and role specific considerations. Stages of expression of the gene transcription proteins were also considered during exposure.
In conclusion, I agree with the results and discussions of the study. The findings of this study cannot be overlooked. This is especially true considering that Atrazine has been used in agricultural production for over 50 years. I agree with the conclusion because the experiments have clearly indicated alterations in the normal functioning of the relevant proteins in tissue formation. Impaired tissues will thus lead to impaired organs.