Fullerene C60 Protects Against Intestinal Injury from Deoxynivalenol Toxicity by Improving Antioxidant Capacity

Abstract

Oxidative stress is involved in a wide variety of pathologies, and fullerene has been shown to have an antioxidant ability. Mycotoxins exert toxic effects through induction of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we evaluated water-soluble fullerene C60 for its anti-mycotoxin and antioxidant effects in vitro and in vivo. Intestinal epithelial cells were cultured with fullerene during deoxynivalenol (DON) exposure. The results revealed that fullerene C60 significantly promoted cell viability, decreased apoptosis and necrotic cell number, and significantly reduced intracellular ROS levels during DON exposure (p < 0.05). To investigate the role of fullerene in antioxidant capacity in vivo further, 40 three-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups. There were no significant differences between the control and fullerene groups (p > 0.05). In mice exposed to DON, supplementation with fullerene C60 significantly improved growth performance, and enhanced the total antioxidant status and the activities of SOD and GPX in the intestine and liver (p < 0.05). In addition, fullerene C60 supplementation improved intestinal morphology, as indicated by a higher villus height and tight junction protein expression (p < 0.05). Furthermore, fullerene supplementation decreased serum concentrations of inflammatory cytokine and lipopolysaccharide (LPS; a penetrability marker) compared to the DON-challenged group (p < 0.05). The current study suggests that fullerene C60 improves intestinal antioxidant status against DON-induced oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo.

Dietary zero-dimensional fullerene supplementation improves the meat quality, lipid metabolism, muscle fiber characteristics, and antioxidative status in finishing pigs

“…In addition, the C60 administered orally to rats at a very high dose had no adverse effects on growth, feed intakes, and blood and biochemical variables as well as histopathological examination. Our preliminary tests also showed that fullerenes did not adversely affect mice and could even promote weight gain of mice during the growth period, and is beneficial to the intestinal mucosal health of vomitoxin model mice ( Liao et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Our preliminary studies showed that C60 could promote the growth of mice during the growth period and was beneficial to the intestinal mucosal health of vomitoxin model mice ( Liao et al., 2021 ). To further extend the scope of this application, our present study demonstrates the beneficial effects of C60 on growth and feed efficiency in pigs owing to their ability to attenuate oxidative stress.…”

“…Reducing lipid peroxidation and improving antioxidant status can increase the quality of meat products and shelf life. Our previous data revealed that C60 supplementation in mice diet decreased MDA concentration in serum and ROS content in liver tissues while increasing liver tissues' GSH-Px content, as well as serum SOD level ( Liao et al., 2021 ). Similarly, this study proved that C60 acted as a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger and significantly reduced the concentration of MDA, alleviated oxidative damage to biological tissues and meat, and enhanced the content of T-AOC, GSH-Px, as well as GSH-Px mRNA in the muscle, which contributed to the color and freshness of meat.…”

“…C60 can be used as an effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger for its electron donor and acceptor capability, and it does not possess any genotoxic effects on human lymphocytes or mutagenic effects in vivo and in vitro ( Hao et al., 2016 ; Aly et al., 2018 ; Vereshchaka et al., 2018 ; Sharoyko et al., 2021 ). These fullerene compounds include polyhydroxy C60 (fullerol), carboxylated fullerene, and polysulfonated C60, which have been proved to block the damage from free radicals in several diseases related to oxidative stress, such as ischemia/reperfusion injury, inflammatory cell apoptosis, and neurogenic diseases ( Zhou et al., 2010 ; Hao et al., 2016 ; Liao et al., 2021 ; Nozdrenko et al., 2021 ). Previous studies indicated that C60 can be effectively absorbed by the animal's gastrointestinal tract and metabolized in many organs and had no genotoxic effects ( Aly et al., 2018 ).…”

Reactive-oxygen-species-scavenging nanomaterials for resolving inflammation

“…Tang et al. proved that water-soluble fullerene could reduce cellular ROS levels and oxidative stress state to ameliorate the immune response and intestinal injury [ 79 ]. Hydrated fullerene NPs have been applied for treating diabetes-related complications.…”