The importance of accounting for sex in the search of proteomic signatures of mycotoxin exposure

Abstract

The current trend in mycotoxicology is the combination of several -omics techniques in order to understand the mechanism of action and effects of these toxic natural food contaminants. One of the goals of these experiments is to determine "potential biomarkers" of mycotoxicoses. Nevertheless, the strategy followed in biomarker research must take into account as many possible factors as possible in order to find robust biomarkers for differential diagnosis. Among the factors that can have an influence in the response to mycotoxins, one of the most important is sex. Traditionally, males are preferentially used in research, as they are more sensitive to mycotoxins and their response is not dependent on hormonal levels, thus less variable. However the intrinsic and hormonal differences between sexes makes that results obtained in males are often not directly transferrable to females. In this review, we want to highlight (1) that proteomics has a great potential on mycotoxin research, and (2) the need in taking into account sex differences in proteomic studies, mostly when the discovery of robust biomarkers of mycotoxins response is desired.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of AFB1 and OTA-toxicity through immunofluorescence and flow cytometry techniques: A systematic review

“…Nowadays, several molecular techniques can be employed to determinate the toxicological mode of action (MOA) of mycotoxins in organisms. Naturally, the main tool used are -omics techniques, which allow to analyze both in vivo and in vitro systemic changes induced by harmful compounds (Soler and Oswald, 2018;Cimbalo et al, 2020). In addition, flow cytometry (FCM) and microscopy can be excellent tools for studying mycotoxin toxicity.…”

Discussion on emergency management of food safety from the perspective of foodborne diseases caused by mycotoxins

“…PAT-induced intestinal barrier disruption is associated with endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and tissue damage (Zhai et al, 2019). PAT may be sex-dependent men are more sensitive than women and endocrine-disrupting activity (Saleh & Goktepe, 2019;Nan et al, 2022;Soler & Oswald, 2018).The carcinogenic intensity of PAT is controversial. WHO considers PAT to be a strong genotoxic substance.…”

Immunohistochemical Expression (IE) of Oestrogen Receptors in the Intestines of Prepubertal Gilts Exposed to Zearalenone

“…Subclinical symptoms of ZEN mycotoxicosis can cause changes in hormonal signalling when enterocytes in different intestinal segments are exposed to this mycotoxin [ 19 ]. The role of zearalenone in the digestive system should be evaluated to determine possible risks for gilts before puberty [ 2 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Therefore, this experiment aimed to find out whether a low monotonic dose of ZEN affects the immunohistochemical expression (IE) of ERα and ERβ in the gut of prepubertal gilts.…”