S. Knasmuller et al., GENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF 3 FUSARIUM MYCOTOXINS, FUMONISIN-B-1, MONILIFORMIN AND VOMITOXIN IN BACTERIA AND IN PRIMARY CULTURES OF RAT HEPATOCYTES, Mutation research. Genetic toxicology and environmental mutagenesis, 391(1-2), 1997, pp. 39-48
The genotoxic effects of three widespread Fusarium toxins, vomitoxin (
VOM), moniliformin (MON) and fumonisin B-1 (FB1) were investigated in
bacterial tests and in micronucleus (MN) and chromosomal aberration (C
A) assays with primary rat hepatocytes, All three toxins were devoid o
f activity in gene mutation assays with Salmonella typhimurium strains
TA98 and TA100 and in SOS chromotests with E. coli strain PQ37 in the
presence and absence of metabolic activation, FB1 and VOM gave negati
ve results in differential DNA repair assays with E. coli K-12 strains
(343/753, uvrB/recA and 343/765, uvr(+)/rec(+)); with MON, a marginal
effect was seen in the absence of metabolic activation mix at relativ
ely high concentrations (greater than or equal to 55 mu g/ml). In meta
bolically competent rat hepatocytes stimulated to proliferate with EGF
and subphysiological Ca2+ concentrations, a decrease of cell division
was observed with all three toxins at concentrations greater than or
equal to 10 mu g/ml, VOM was strongly cytotoxic at 100 mu g/ml. All th
ree mycotoxins caused moderate increases of the MN frequencies at low
concentrations (less than or equal to 1 mu g/ml), but no clear dose-re
sponse effects were seen and at higher exposure levels the MN frequenc
ies declined. In the CA experiments with hepatocytes, pronounced dose-
dependent effects were observed with all three toxins. MON caused a 9-
fold increase over the spontaneous background level after exposure of
the cells to 1 mu g/ml for 3 h, with FB1 and VOM, the increases were 6
- to 7-fold under identical experimental conditions. This is the first
report on clastogenic effects of VOM and FB1 in mammalian cells, with
MON induction of CAs in V-79 cells has been described earlier. Since
all three mycotoxins caused CAs at very low concentration levels in li
ver cells in vitro, it is possible that such effects may also occur in
humans and mammals upon consumption of Fusarium-infected cereals.