Acetylcholinesterase inhibition: does it explain the toxicity of organophosphorus compounds?

The hypothesis that acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition is the mechanism of toxicity of organophosphorus (OP) compounds was examined by mathematically modeling the in vivo lethal effects of OP compounds and determining the amount of variation in OP toxicity that is explained by AChE inhibition. Mortality dose–response curves for several OP compounds (i.e., VX, soman, cyclosarin, sarin, tabun, diisopropylfluorophosphate and paraoxon) exhibited...