Cytotoxicity of the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol on mammalian and avian cell lines

Trichothecenes are mycotoxins that occur in grains and can lead to acute and chronic poisoning in animals and humans. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a type B trichothecene affecting protein synthesis, immune system, leading to brain, blood and kidney disorders. The aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro the cytotoxicity and the pathological effects of DON in short-term experiments on cells from non-tumour and tumour permanent cell lines and to compare their sensitivity. Cell cultivation of BALB/c 3T3, DEC 99, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and Hela cells was performed. Quantitative and qualitative methods evaluating cytotoxicity on the base of statistical and morphological analyses for determining the impact on the viability and proliferative activity were used: Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) cytotoxicity test, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test and fluorescence microscopy. The cytotoxic effect of DON was assessed after an exposure period of 24 h. DON treatment induced significant alterations in the growth and morphology of the cells, involving early and late apoptosis and necrosis signs. Statistically significant decrease of the viability of all cell lines was established at concentrations of DON starting from 1.9 µg/mL to 3.7 µg/mL, the mean IC50 concentrations were calculated. According to the IC50 values the hierarchical order of cell lines’ sensitivity was determined.