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. 2024 Jun:126:108599.
doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2024.108599. Epub 2024 Apr 26.

Aflatoxin B1 exposure exacerbates chemokine receptor expression in the BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J Mouse Model, unveiling insights into autism spectrum disorder: A focus on brain and spleen

Mohammad Y Alwetaid  1 , Taghreed N Almanaa  1 , Saleh A Bakheet  2 , Mushtaq A Ansari  2 , Ahmed Nadeem  2 , Sabry M Attia  2 , Marwa H Hussein  2 , Mohamed S M Attia  2 , Sheikh F Ahmad  3
Affiliations

Aflatoxin B1 exposure exacerbates chemokine receptor expression in the BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J Mouse Model, unveiling insights into autism spectrum disorder: A focus on brain and spleen

Mohammad Y Alwetaid et al. Reprod Toxicol. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, communication, and repeated stereotypic behaviour. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most potent and well-known mycotoxin in various food sources. Despite its propensity to generate significant biochemical and structural changes in human and animal tissues, the influence of AFB1 on ASD has yet to be thoroughly studied. Mounting evidence indicates that chemokine receptors play a crucial function in the central nervous system and are implicated in developing several neuroinflammatory disorders. Chemokine receptors in individuals with ASD were elevated in the anterior cingulate gyrus astrocytes, cerebellum, and brain.

Methods: The BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice are inbred strains that exhibit strong and consistently observed deficits in social interactions, characterized by excessive self-grooming and limited vocalization in social contexts. We examined the impact of AFB1 on CCR3-, CCR7-, CCR9-, CXCR3-, CXCR4-, and CXCR6-expressing I-A/I-E+ cells in the spleen of the BTBR mouse model of autism. We evaluated the mRNA levels of CCR3, CCR7, CCR9, CXCR3, CXCR4, and CXCR6 chemokine receptors in the brain.

Results: The exposure to AFB1 in BTBR mice resulted in a significant rise in the number of I-A/I-E+CCR3+, I-A/I-E+CCR7+, I-A/I-E+CCR9+, I-A/I-E+CXCR3+, I-A/I-E+CXCR4+, and I-A/I-E+CXCR6+ cells. Furthermore, exposure to AFB1 increased mRNA expression levels of CCR3, CCR7, CCR9, CXCR3, CXCR4, and CXCR6 in the brain.

Conclusions: These findings highlight that AFB1 exposure increases the expression of chemokine receptors in BTBR mice, indicating the necessity for further research into AFB1's role in the development of ASD.

Keywords: Aflatoxin B(1); Autism spectrum disorder; BTBR mice; Chemokine receptors; I-A/I-E.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.