Targeted Analysis of Sphingolipids in Turkeys Fed Fusariotoxins: First Evidence of Key Changes That Could Help Explain Their Relative Resistance to Fumonisin Toxicity

Abstract

The effects of fumonisins on sphingolipids in turkeys are unknown, except for the increased sphinganine to sphingosine ratio (Sa:So) used as a biomarker. Fumonisins fed at 20.2 mg/kg for 14 days were responsible for a 4.4 fold increase in the Sa:So ratio and a decrease of 33% and 36% in C14-C16 ceramides and C14-C16 sphingomyelins, respectively, whereas C18-C26 ceramides and C18-C26 sphingomyelins remained unaffected or were increased. Glucosyl- and lactosyl-ceramides paralleled the concentrations of ceramides. Fumonisins also increased dihydroceramides but had no effect on deoxysphinganine. A partial least squfares discriminant analysis revealed that all changes in sphingolipids were important in explaining the effect of fumonisins. Because deoxynivalenol and zearalenone are often found in feed, their effects on sphingolipids alone and in combination with fumonisins were investigated. Feeding 5.12 mg deoxynivalenol/kg reduced dihydroceramides in the liver. Zearalenone fed at 0.47 mg/kg had no effect on sphingolipids. When fusariotoxins were fed simultaneously, the effects on sphingolipids were similar to those observed in turkeys fed fumonisins alone. The concentration of fumonisin B1 in the liver of turkeys fed fumonisins was 0.06 µmol/kg. Changes in sphingolipid concentrations differed but were consistent with the IC50 of fumonisin B1 measured in mammals; these changes could explain the relative resistance of turkeys to fumonisins.

Fumonisins alone or mixed with other fusariotoxins increase the C22–24:C16 sphingolipid ratios in chickens and ducks, while deoxynivalenol and zearalenone have no effect

“…These results are in agreement with previous ndings in chicken liver and kidney [23,24,27]. The C22-24:C16 ratios, recalculated from data reported in turkey liver [21], were also increased after feeding a diet containing fumonisins. Taken together, these results suggest that the effect of fumonisins on the C22-24:C16 ratios is similar in chickens, ducks, and turkeys.…”

“…This inhibition led to overexpression of endoplasmic reticulum stress, while CerS2 overexpression protected from FB1-induced damage. Taken together, these results suggest that the increase in the C22-24:C16 ratio observed in chickens and ducks in this study, and previously reported in turkey livers [21], may be an important factor in explaining the interspecies differences in sensitivity to fumonisin toxicity.…”

“…Thus, the effects of fumonisins on the sphinganine concentration in ducks fed the FB and FDZ diets were similar, as were the fumonisins concentrations in the diets. The similarity of the effects of the FB and FDZ diets on sphinganine concentration in duck liver is consistent with data in turkey liver [21].…”

New perspectives in application of kidney biomarkers in mycotoxin induced nephrotoxicity, with a particular focus on domestic pigs

“…This occurs in in fowl where the kidney is not the primary target organ. However, urinary Sa/So ratio is still an important biomarker, e.g., in ducks (Tran et al, 2006) and in turkeys (Guerre et al, 2022).…”

“…Fumonisin mycotoxins are mainly produced by filamentous fungi Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium proliferatum and provide at least 28 conformational analogues; these are classified into the sub-groups, A, B, C, and P series (Rheeder et al, 2002). From a toxicological aspect the B series, in particular fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) is the most challenging, exerting species-specific and target organ specific effects (Chen et al, 2021;Guerre et al, 2022).…”