Effects of diets with cereal grains contaminated by graded levels of two Fusarium toxins on selected immunological and histological measurements in the spleen of gilts1,2

Abstract

Feeding experiments with diets containing Fusarium toxin-contaminated wheat were conducted to clarify the pathogenesis of immunological effects of Fusarium toxins to porcine spleen cells. Contaminated diets were fed to 36 Landrace prepubertal gilts for 35 d. Concentrations (as-fed basis) of the indicator toxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON), respectively, were 210 and 4 (control--group I), 3,070 and 88 (group II), 6,100 and 235 (group III), and 9,570 and 358 microg/kg (group IV). No signs of hyperestrogenism or uterotrophic effects were observed because of dietary treatments. The feeding of mycotoxin-contaminated diets did not cause gross pathological findings in the spleens of animals. In vivo, no inhibitory effects were detected on concanavalin A-stimulation of blood lymphocytes; however, the proliferation rate of splenocytes was inhibited (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the diet with the highest DON/ZON concentration. With in vitro studies, lower proliferation rates of blood lymphocytes and splenocytes preexposed to DON were detected. Serum IgA concentrations of pigs in group II were increased (P < 0.05) compared with the baseline value before feeding the DON/ZON diet. The histopathological data indicated elevated (P < 0.05) iron staining in the red pulp of spleens in gilts from groups I to IV after 35 d of feeding. The presence of hemosiderin particles in the spleen sections was confirmed by transmission electron microscopic investigation. Together, the results provide evidence of spleen dysfunction (hemosiderosis) in the absence of clinical signs, especially in pigs fed higher concentrations (groups III and IV) of Fusarium toxin-contaminated wheat.

On the effects of the Fusarium toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) administered per os or intraperitoneal infusion to sows during days 63 to 70 of gestation

“…The question why the DON release by the osmotic minipump was not as expected cannot be solved from the present results. However, the solubility and stability of DON in DMSO, water, PBS, and NaCl-solution under physiological conditions was proven several times in different cell cultures (Goyarts et al 2006a, b;Tiemann et al 2006Tiemann et al , 2008b. To the authors' knowledge, only one experiment (Prelusky 1997) has been conducted with pigs (10-13 kg bw, 6 weeks) implanted intraperitoneally with an osmotic pump (Alzet Model 1007D, 0.5 µL/h) filled with an aqueous solution of DON, resulting in an intraperitoneal DON dose of 2 µg DON/h (low dose, 48 µg/day, 3.7-4.8 µg/kg bw/day) and 5 µg DON/h (high dose, 120 µg/day, 9.2-12.0 µg/kg bw/day).…”

In vivo toxicity studies of fusarium mycotoxins in the last decade: A review

“…The in vivo investigations provide information on the effects in whole animals, whereas cell specific answers result from in vitro investigations. For example, the summarized results reviewed by Tiemann et al (2006) about the toxicological data on the effects of ZEA and DON on different parameters relating to reproductive and non-reproductive organs in female pigs indicated that in vitro studies with porcine cell cultures only partially agree with that of in vivo experiments. An explanation could be the fact that sometimes the cells in vitro react more sensitively than those in vivo, because a direct interaction of chemical substances with the plasma membrane exists which may alter the membrane structure and function.…”

“…Its species, which invade agriculturally important grains, are probably the most prevalent toxin-producing fungi of the northern temperate regions and are commonly found in cereals grown in America, Europe and Asia (Tiemann et al, 2006). Most members of the genus produce -under favorable environmental conditions -an array of secondary metabolites, which vary widely in chemical form.…”

Effects of Zinc Glycine Chelate on Growth, Hematological, and Immunological Characteristics in Broilers

“…Immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, and IgM) and complements (C3 and C4) concentrations were determined using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as described by Tiemann et al [13]. Briefly, plates were incubated at room temperature for 60 min and then washed five times in washing solution.…”