Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS, tetramine) is a toxic organic compound that is used as an effective rodenticide. However, this neurotoxin is not only toxic to rodents, it also causes poisoning in humans. Due to its high level of toxicity for humans, the use of TETS as a rodenticide has been banned and its production has been discontinued. Despite this, human poisoning by this substance is unfortunately still very common. The largest number of poisonings are reported in China, but in the United States, dozens of poisonings still happen annually. TETS is one of the most hazardous pesticides and also a possible chemical warfare agent with no known antidote. In this article, we aim to summarize the biochemical and toxicological data of TETS and hope to cast some light on the toxicological risk to human health.

Biomedical Research Center University Hospital Hradec Kralove 500 03 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Center for Basic and Applied Research Faculty of Informatics and Management University of Hradec Kralove 500 03 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

College of Life Science Yangtze University Jingzhou 434025 China

Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology College of Medicine Florida International University Miami FL 33199 USA

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science University of Hradec Kralove 500 03 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Department of Radiology and Toxicology Faculty of Health and Social Studies University of South Bohemia Ceske Budejovice 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Laboratory of Molecular Modeling Applied to the Chemical and Biological Defense Military Institute of Engineering Rio de Janeiro 22290 270 RJ Brazil

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