T-2 mycotoxin treatment of newborn rat pups does not significantly affect nervous system functions in adulthood

Neurotoxic mechanisms of mycotoxins: Focus on aflatoxin B1 and T-2 toxin

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and T-2 toxin are commonly found in animal feed and stored grain, posing a serious threat to human and animal health. Mycotoxins can penetrate brain tissue by compromising the blood-brain barrier, triggering oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, and leading to oxidative damage and apoptosis of brain cells. The potential neurotoxic mechanisms of AFB1 and T-2 toxin were discussed by summarizing the relevant research reports from the past ten years. AFB1 and T-2 toxin cause neuronal damage in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, leading to synaptic transmission dysfunction, ultimately impairing the nervous system function of the body. The toxic mechanism is related to excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, autophagy, and an exaggerated inflammatory response. After passing through the blood-brain barrier, toxins can directly affect glial cells, alter the activation state of microglia and astrocytes, thereby promoting brain inflammation, disrupting the blood-brain barrier, and influencing the synaptic transmission process. We discussed the diverse effects of various concentrations of toxins and different modes of exposure on neurotoxicity. In addition, toxins can also cross the placental barrier, causing neurotoxic symptoms in offspring, as demonstrated in various species. Our goal is to uncover the underlying mechanisms of the neurotoxicity of AFB1 and T-2 toxin and to provide insights for future research, including investigating the impact of mycotoxins on interactions between microglia and astrocytes.

Review of neurotoxicity of T-2 toxin

T-2 toxin is a representative trichothecene that is widely detected in corn, wheat and other grain feeds. T-2 toxin has stable physical and chemical properties, making it difficult to remove from food and feed. Hence, T-2 toxin has become an unavoidable pollutant in food for humans and animals. T-2 toxin can enter brain tissue by crossing the blood-brain barrier and leads to congestion, swelling and even apoptosis of neurons. T-2 toxin poisoning can directly lead to clinical symptoms (anti-feeding reaction and decline of learning and memory function in humans and animals). Maternal T-2 toxin exposure also exerted toxic effects on the central nervous system of offspring. Oxidative stress is the core neurotoxicity mechanism underlying T-2 toxin poison. Oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis, mitochondrial oxidative damage and inflammation are all involved in the neurotoxicity induced by T-2 toxin. Thus, alleviating oxidative stress has become a potential target for relieving the neurotoxicity induced by T-2 toxin. Future efforts should be devoted to revealing the neurotoxic molecular mechanism of T-2 toxin and exploring effective therapeutic drugs to alleviate T-2 toxin-induced neurotoxicity.

Effects of maternal T-2 toxin exposure on the hepatic glycolipid metabolism in young mice

T-2 toxin is a kind of group A trichothecenes mycotoxins, frequently detected in various foods and feeds, having high toxic effects on both humans and animals. The present study aims to investigate the toxic effects of T-2 toxin exposure to ICR mice during pregnancy and lactation on liver glycolipid metabolism of young mice. The pregnant mice were given 0, 0.005 and 0.05 mg of T-2 toxin/kg bw daily through oral gavage from late gestation (GD 14) to the lactation (LD 21). Liver and serum samples of the young mice were collected on postnatal day 21 (PND 21), PND 28 and PND 56. The results showed that T-2 toxin increased the contents of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (T-CHO) and glucose in serum of young mice on PND 21 and PND 28. In addition, obvious lipid droplets of liver in T-2 toxin treatment groups were observed, especially in 0.05 mg group of PND 21and PND 28. Compared with the control group, T-2 treatment also increased the expressions of genes associated with liver glycolipid metabolism, such as PEPCK, Glut2, Fas, Acox1, Hmgcr, PPARα, Srebp1 and CD36. These results demonstrated T-2 toxin exposure to pregnant mice could cause liver glycolipid metabolism disruption in the young mice and the toxic effects weakened on PND 56.