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Immunomodulation by fungal toxins.
1Toxicology Research Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Genevieve_Bondy@hc-sc.gc.ca
Summary
This review details the immunotoxicity of fungal toxins like aflatoxins and ochratoxins, highlighting ongoing research into fumonisins and trichothecenes. Understanding these mycotoxins is crucial for public health and food safety.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Immunology
- Mycology
Background:
- Fungal toxins (mycotoxins) exhibit variable immunotoxicity data.
- A comprehensive review of recent literature on aflatoxins, fumonisins, gliotoxin, ochratoxins, patulin, and trichothecenes is presented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize current knowledge on the immunotoxicity of major fungal toxins.
- To identify gaps in research and future directions for understanding mycotoxin-induced immune modulation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent scientific publications.
- Analysis of studies on specific mycotoxins including aflatoxins, fumonisins, gliotoxin, ochratoxins, patulin, and trichothecenes.
Main Results:
- Aflatoxins modulate cell-mediated immunity and phagocytic function; dietary interventions are explored.
- Ochratoxins' effects on offspring immune function are under investigation; fumonisin research is active, potentially linking to sphingolipid metabolism.
- Patulin shows low immunotoxicity risk at food-relevant levels; gliotoxin's in vivo immunomodulatory role requires further study; trichothecenes have diverse immune effects with more known molecular mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- Significant progress has been made in understanding mycotoxin immunotoxicity, but research gaps remain, particularly concerning in vivo effects and molecular mechanisms.
- Future research should focus on elucidating the molecular basis of immune modulation by fungal toxins and clarifying in vivo relevance.