Project description:Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most abundant mycotoxin contaminants in food stuffs and possesses carcinogenic, nephrotoxic, teratogenic and immunotoxic properties. Especially, severe nephrotoxicity is of great concern, as characterized by degeneration of epithelial cells of the proximal tubules and interstitial fibrosis. However, its mechanism of toxicity, hazard identification as well as genetic risk factors contributing to OTA toxicity in humans has been elusive due to the lack of adequate models that fully recapitulate kidney function in vitro. The present study attempts to evaluate dose-response relationships, identify the contribution of active transport proteins that govern renal disposition of OTA, and determine the role of metabolism in bioactivation and detoxification of OTA using a 3D human kidney proximal tubule microphysiological system (kidney MPS). We demonstrated that IC50 values of OTA in kidney MPS culture (0.375 – 1.21 µM) were in good agreement with clinical toxic concentrations of OTA in urine. Surprisingly, no enhancement of kidney injury biomarkers was evident in the effluents of kidney MPS after OTA exposure despite significant toxicity observed by LIVE/DEAD staining, rather these biomarkers were decreased in OTA concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the effect of 1-aminobenzotriazole (ABT) and 6-(NBD-4-ylthio-) hexanol (NBDHEX), pan-inhibitor of P450 and GST enzymes, respectively, on the OTA-induced toxicity in kidney MPS was examined, which resulted in significant enhancement of OTA-induced toxicity by NBDHEX (3 µM) treatment whereas ABT (1 mM) treatment decreased OTA-induced toxicity, suggesting the roles of GSTs and P450 enzymes in the detoxification and bioactivation of OTA, respectively. Additionally, OTA transport studies using kidney MPS in the presence and absence of inhibitor of organic anion transporter(s), probenecid (1 mM), revealed the role of organic anionic membrane transporter(s) in the kidney specific disposition of OTA. Our findings provide a better understanding of the mechanism of OTA-induced kidney injury which may support changes in risk assessment, regulatory agency policies on allowable exposure levels and determination of genetic factors in high-risk populations against OTA nephrotoxicity.
Project description:Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a fungal secondary metabolite widely found in cereal and a wide variety of foods; it also exhibits carcinogenic effects, nephrotoxicity, and teratogenicity. In this study, the zebrafish was applied to investigate the effects of ochratoxin A on gene expressions in zebrafish embryos.
Project description:The objective of this study is to analyze miRNA profiling in the kidneys of rats gavaged with OTA. To profile miRNAs in the kidneys of rats with OTA nephrotoxicity, high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics approaches were applied to analyze the miRNAs in the kidney of rats following OTA treatment
Project description:Ochratoxin A gene expression profiling in liver and kidney, with time points of exposure from 7 days to 12 motnhs Keywords: timecourse
Project description:Changes in renal gene expression were assessed in p53WT(+/+) mice and their heterozygous p53TG(+/-) counterparts exposed to the nephrotoxic and tumourigenic fungal toxin Ochratoxin A (OTA) in their diet for 26 weeks. The p53TG mouse model has been used in screening for potential carcinogens as it displays increased sensitivity to genotoxic carcinogens. Comparison between the effects of OTA in diet on male mice of these two strains was assessed at 0, 0.05, 2.0, 10.0 mg OTA/kg diet. Changes in global gene expression were compared using Agilent Mouse oligonucleotide microarray analysis of kidneys from control (0 mg OTA/kg diet) and treated (2 mg OTA/kg diet) mice. Significant changes in gene expression associated with cell cycle regulation, DNA damage repair, tumour suppression and apoptosis were consistent with nephrotoxicity due to OTA exposure in both mouse strains. Changes in genes related to oxidative stress and free radical scavenging may contribute to the down-regulation by OTA of genes associated with metabolism. Gene expression changes were consistent with phenotype and provided insight on the cellular responses to chronic OTA exposure.
Project description:Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxin that has been associated with kidney damages. The goal of this project was to identified which impact had nanomolar concentrations of this toxin on cells derived from human kidney in order to identify putative key regulators and underlying mechanisms of the already described phenotypes (e.g. increased apoptosis, dysregulated cell cycle)