Gene expression profiling after ochratoxin A treatment in small intestinal epithelial cells from pigs

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a well-known mycotoxin that causes disease through the ingestion of contaminated food or feed, for example, in the porcine industry. The intestinal epithelium acts as the first barrier against food contamination. We conducted a study on the exposure of the porcine intestinal epithelium to OTA. We used the intestinal porcine epithelial cell line IPEC-J2 as an in vitro model to evaluate the altered molecular mechanisms following OTA exposure. Gene expression profiling revealed that OTA upregulated 782 genes and downregulated 896, totalling 1678 differentially expressed genes. Furthermore, immunofluorescence, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting confirmed that OTA damages the tight junction protein ZO-1. Moreover, OTA activated the expression of inflammatory genes (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, NF-kB, TLR4, and TNF-α). In summary, this study confirmed that OTA alters various molecular mechanisms and has several adverse effects on IPEC-J2 cells.