The influence of Fusarium mycotoxins on the liver of gilts and their suckling piglets

Dolenšek, Tamara (author), Švara, Tanja (author), Knific, Tanja (author), Gombač, Mitja (author), Luzar, Boštjan (author), Jakovac-Strajn, Breda (author)

Mycotoxins are common fungal secondary metabolites in both animal feed and human food, representing widespread toxic contaminants that cause various adverse effects. Co-contamination with different mycotoxins is frequent; therefore, this study focused on feed contaminated with Fusarium mycotoxins, namely, deoxynivalenol (5.08 mg/kg), zearalenone (0.09 mg/kg), and fusaric acid (21.6 mg/kg). Their effects on the liver of gilts and their piglets were chosen as the research subject as pigs are one of the most sensitive animal species that are also physiologically very similar to humans. The gilts were fed the experimental diet for 54 ± 1 day, starting late in their pregnancy and continuing until roughly a week after weaning of their piglets. Livers of gilts and their piglets were assessed for different histopathological changes, apoptosis, and proliferation activity of hepatocytes. On histopathology, gilts fed the experimental diet had a statistically significant increase in hepatocellular necrosis and apoptosis (p = 0.0318) as well as sinusoidal leukocytosis with inflammatory infiltrates of hepatic lobules (p = 0.0004). The amount of interlobular connective tissue in the liver of experimental gilts was also significantly decreased (p = 0.0232), implying a disruption in the formation of fibrous connective tissue. Apoptosis of hepatocytes and of cells in hepatic sinusoids, further assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay, showed a statistically significant increase (p = 0.0224 and p = 0.0007, respectively). No differences were observed in piglet livers. These results indicated that Fusarium mycotoxins elicited increased apoptosis, necrosis, and inflammation in the liver of gilts, but caused no effects on the liver of piglets at these concentrations.

• Language: English
• Keywords: pig, liver, histopathology, Fusarium mycotoxins, immunohistochemistry, apoptosis, proliferation index
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty; MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 14 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 9, art. 2534
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135618
• UDC: 59
• ISSN on article: 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani11092534
• COBISS.SI-ID: 74768899
• Publication date in RUL: 22.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Animals
• Shortened title: Animals
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-2615
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519120409

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.09.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: prašič, jetra, histopatologija

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0092
• Name: Zdravje živali, okolje in varna hrana