Preparation and Characterization of Cysteine Adducts of Deoxynivalenol

Conjugation with the biologically relevant thiol glutathione is one of the metabolic pathways for the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat. The occurrence of putative DON-cysteine conjugates has also been shown in wheat, likely in part as a result of degradation of the glutathione conjugates. It was reported that thiols react in vitro with DON at two positions: reversibly at C-10 of the α,β-unsaturated ketone and irreversibly at C-13 of the epoxy group. We synthesized pure DON-cysteine adducts and made analytical standards using quantitative NMR experiments. Compounds were characterized using NMR and LC-HRMS/MS and tested in vitro for toxicity. Cysteine conjugates were much less toxic than DON at the same concentration, and LC-HRMS analysis demonstrated that there was no detectable metabolism of the conjugates in human monocytes or human macrophages.