CARDIOVASCULAR LESIONS AND VARIOUS TUMORS FOUND IN RATS GIVEN T-2-TOXIN, A TRICHOTHECENE METABOLITE OF FUSARIUM

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 39  (6) , 2179-2189
Abstract
White rats given intragastrically 3.alpha.-hydroxy-4.beta.,15-diacetoxy-8.alpha.-(3-methylbutyryloxy)-12,13-epoxy-trichothec-9-ene (T-2 toxin), a trichothecene metabolite of several Fusarium spp. [F. poae and F. sporotrichioides], developed various acute and chronic, topical and systemic lesions. The rats that survived 12-27.5 mo. after the 1st of 3-8 doses of T-2 toxin (0.2-4 mg/kg body wt) alone or in conjuction with nicotinamide given i.p. (200-250 mg/kg body wt) developed cardiovascular lesions of various degrees of severity and/or tumors, benign and malignant, of the digestive tract and of the brain. T-2 toxin is known occasionally to contaminate cereals and other agricultural products, harvested or stored under damp and cold conditions. T-2 toxin was responsible for an often fatal disease in humans, known in the U.S.S.R. as alimentary toxic aleukia, and also for outbreaks of hemorrhagic mycotoxicoses in livestock in various countries. T-2 toxin and other Fusarium mycotoxins may be involved in the etiology of cardiovascular lesions and of certain tumors considered as spontaneous in animals and humans.