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. 2014 Mar 13;6(3):1080-95.
doi: 10.3390/toxins6031080.

Zearalenone, an estrogenic mycotoxin, is an immunotoxic compound

Isis M Hueza  1 , Paulo Cesar F Raspantini  2 , Leonila Ester R Raspantini  3 , Andreia O Latorre  4 , Silvana L Górniak  5
Affiliations

Zearalenone, an estrogenic mycotoxin, is an immunotoxic compound

Isis M Hueza et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the toxic effects of zearalenone (ZEA) on the immune function. Ovariectomised rats were treated daily by gavage with 3.0 mg/kg of ZEA for 28 days. Body weight gain, food consumption, haemotological parameters, lymphoid organs, and their cellularities were evaluated. Moreover, acquired immune responses and macrophage activity were also assessed. ZEA promoted reduction in body weight gain, which is not fully explained by diminished food consumption. Despite no effect on haematological parameters, ZEA caused thymic atrophy with histological and thymocyte phenotype changes and decrease in the B cell percentage in the spleen. With respect to acquired and innate immune responses, no statistically significant differences in delayed-type hypersensitivity were noticed; however, in the ZEA-treated rats, antibody production and peroxide release by macrophages were impaired. The observed results could be related to ZEA activity on ERs; thus, ZEA is an immunotoxic compound similar to estrogen and some endocrine disruptors.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Thymus (a) and spleen (c) relative weight, thymus (b) and spleen (d) wet weight, splenocytes (e) and bone marrow (f) cellularity of female ovariectomized rats treated or not with 3.0 mg/kg of zearalenone for 28 days by gavage. The data are expressed as the means ± S.D. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01 versus the control group; α p < 0.05 versus the pair-fed group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thymus sections of an ovariectomized rat from the control group (a) and from a rat treated with 3.0 mg/kg of zearalenone by gavage for 28 days (b). Note the cellular depletion in both the cortex and medulla areas of the thymus of the rat treated with the mycotoxin (H.E., 4×).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effect of zearalenone exposure on plaque-forming cells (a), and delayed-type hypersensitive response (b) of rats treated or not with 3.0 mg/kg of zearalenone by gavage for 28 days. The data are expressed as the means ± S.D. * p < 0.05 versus the control group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of zearalenone exposure on spontaneous hydrogen peroxide release (a) and spontaneous nitric oxide production (b) by resident peritoneal macrophages of rats treated or not with 3.0 mg/kg of zearalenone by gavage for 28 days. The data are expressed as the means ± S.D.* p < 0.05 versus the control group.
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