Glyphosate, Diabetes, Melatonin Deficiency and Autism
Acting as an endocrine disruptor, glyphosate can disrupt insulin
signaling, leading to diabetes. Diabetes prevalence is rising in the
United States in step with the rise in glyphosate usage on core crops
[57]. Oral exposure of albino Wistar rats to glyphosate for 16 weeks
was associated with a rise in fasting glucose and insulin, along with a
drop in serum testosterone, and an increase in liver production of
pro-inflammatory factors, including NF-κB, Il-6, Il-1β, and peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) [101]. Maternal diabetes
during pregnancy is associated with increased risks for autism spectrum
disorder and cognitive dysfunction in the offspring [102]. High
circulating glucose levels interfere with pineal melatonin production,
reducing melatonin levels in diabetic rats and type 1 diabetes patients
[103]. Type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats exhibit impaired melatonin
synthesis, with increased inhibitory α-2-adrenoceptors, impaired
5-hydroxytryptophan formation, and reduced pineal gland protein content
[104]. Thus, impaired melatonin supply to the fetus during pregnancy
due to maternal diabetes could cause autism in the developing fetus via
suppression of PIN1 signaling by DAPK1.