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Grabsch C, Wichmann G, Loffhagen N, Herbarth
O, Muller A.
Cytotoxicity assessment of gliotoxin and penicillic acid in
Tetrahymena pyriformis.
Environ
Toxicol. 2006 Apr;21(2):111-7.
UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle Ltd., Department
of Human Exposure Research and Epidemiology, Leipzig, Germany.
carolin.graebsch@ufz.de
Various studies have documented the associations between mold exposure
and effects on health. Mycotoxins, which occur in spores and mold
fragments, can be involved in processes that have pathological effects,
such as adynamia of the immune system, recurrent infections of the
respiratory tract, or asthma. Using Tetrahymena pyriformis, a
single-cell organism well established as a suitable model for human
respiratory epithelium-cell functionalities, we investigated
dose-response relationships of the mycotoxins gliotoxin and penicillic
acid. Our study focused on the viability (cell count, MTT assay), energy
levels (adenosine-5'-triphosphate content), energy-providing processes (MTT
reduction per cell), and cell respiration (oxygen consumption). Both
mycotoxins acted as cytotoxins in a dose-dependent manner. Gliotoxin had
a stronger inhibitory effect (EC50 0.38 microM) than did penicillic acid
(EC50 343.19 microM). The energy-providing processes were not inhibited
or were only weakly inhibited under the influence of gliotoxin, whereas
penicillic acid caused stimulation of the physiological parameters.
Summarizing the results, it is clear that the two investigated
mycotoxins must have different modes of action. They are not only
different in the strength of their toxic effects but also in a variety
of physiological aspects. In addition, T. pyriformis showed differences
in its ability to overcome the negative effects of particular mycotoxin
exposures. Copyright 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PMID: 16528685 |
