Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) induced extracellular vesicle formation: a potential role in organochlorine increased risk of Parkinson's disease

A number of studies have demonstrated that rural living and exposure to pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) highly increase the chances of developing Parkinson's disease. In a previous work, we have found that DDT leads to the formation of vesicular buds that are released from the cells upon fusion of an intermediate endocytic compartment with the plasma membrane. Since extracellular vesicles like exosomes have been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases through the propagation of neurotoxic misfolded proteins from neuron to neuron, in this minireview we propose that organochlorine pesticides could enhance the risk of neurodegenerative diseases by increasing the formation of exosomes.