Effects of Dietary Zearalenone on Oxidative Stress, Cell Apoptosis, and Tight Junction in the Intestine of Juvenile Grass Carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella )

• Published in: Toxins 2019-06, Vol.11 (6), p.333
• Main Authors: Wang, Ya-Li, Zhou, Xiao-Qiu, Jiang, Wei-Dan, Wu, Pei, Liu, Yang, Jiang, Jun, Wang, Shang-Wen, Kuang, Sheng-Yao, Tang, Ling, Feng, Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Carp; Carps - growth & development; Carps - metabolism; Ctenopharyngodon idella; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Edema; Glutathione; Glutathione transferase; Growth rate; Hyperplasia; Influence; Intestinal Mucosa - drug effects; Intestinal Mucosa - metabolism; Intestine; Intestines - drug effects; Intestines - pathology; Kinases; Lipid peroxidation; Mycotoxins; Myosin; Myosin-light-chain kinase; Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase - genetics; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - metabolism; No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; oxidative injury; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - genetics; Physiology; Protein kinase; Proteins; Structural integrity; Tight junctions; Tight Junctions - drug effects; Toxicity; Trout; Zearalenone; Zearalenone - toxicity
• ISSN: 2072-6651; 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins11060333

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a prevalent mycotoxin with high toxicity in animals. In order to study its effect on juvenile grass carp ( ), six diets supplemented with different levels of ZEA (0, 535, 1041, 1548, 2002, and 2507 μg/kg diet) for 10 weeks were studied to assess its toxicity on intestinal structural integrity and potential mechanisms of action. Our report firstly proved that ZEA led to growth retardation and body deformity, and impaired the intestinal structural integrity of juvenile grass carp, as revealed by the following findings: (1) ZEA accumulated in the intestine and caused histopathological lesions; (2) ZEA resulted in oxidative injury, apoptosis, and breached tight junctions in the fish intestine, which were probably associated with Nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (p38MAPK), and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) signaling pathways, respectively. ZEA had no influence on the antioxidant gene levels of ( (rather than ), ( , (not in the distal intestine (DI)), tight junctions , (not in the proximal intestine (PI)), or (not in the mid intestine (MI) or DI).