Nivalenol induced apoptosis in human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro and mouse peripheral blood lymphocytes in vivo

Abstract

It has been reported that T-2 toxin, a trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, induces cellular destruction in bone marrow and thymus cells, followed by reduced numbers of peripheral white blood cells, and this mycotoxin evokes apoptotic cell death in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (hPBLs). To clarify a possibility that the affects of nivalenol (NIV), a trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, on peripheral blood cells cause reduction in the number of peripheral blood cells, we analyzed nivalenol-induced apoptosis in hPBLs in vitro and mouse PBLs (mPBLs) in vivo using flow cytometer. NIV induced apoptosis in hPBLs time-and dose-dependently, while 1, 2-Bis (o-aminophenoxy) ethane-N, N, N', N'-tetraacetic acid tetra (acetoxymethyl) ester (BAPTA-AM), an intracellular Ca⁺⁺ (Ca⁺⁺₁) chelator, efficiently inhibited the apoptotic cell death just like T-2 toxin-induced apoptosis.