Efflux at the Blood-Brain Barrier Reduces the Cerebral Exposure to Ochratoxin A, Ochratoxin α, Citrinin and Dihydrocitrinone

Recent studies have implied that environmental toxins, such as mycotoxins, are risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. To act directly as neurotoxins, mycotoxins need to penetrate or affect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, which protects the mammalian brain from potentially harmful sub...

Authors: Behrens, Matthias
Hüwel, Sabine
Galla, Hans-Joachim
Humpf, Hans-Ulrich
Division/Institute:FB 12: Chemie und Pharmazie
Document types:Article
Media types:Text
Publication date:2021
Date of publication on miami:19.05.2021
Modification date:21.10.2022
Edition statement:[Electronic ed.]
Source:Toxins 13 (2021) 5, 327, 1-17
Subjects:blood-brain barrier; mycotoxins; ochratoxin A; ochratoxin α; citrinin; dihydrocitrinone; probenecid; efflux transporter; HPLC-MS/MS; porcine brain capillary endothelial cells
DDC Subject:572: Biochemie
License:CC BY 4.0
Language:English
Funding:Finanziert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU Münster).
Format:PDF document
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-37069451436
Other Identifiers:DOI: 10.17879/22049477790
Permalink:https://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-37069451436
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    Recent studies have implied that environmental toxins, such as mycotoxins, are risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. To act directly as neurotoxins, mycotoxins need to penetrate or affect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, which protects the mammalian brain from potentially harmful substances. As common food and feed contaminants of fungal origin, the interest in the potential neurotoxicity of ochratoxin A, citrinin and their metabolites has recently increased. Primary porcine brain capillary endothelial cells were used to investigate cytotoxic or barrier-weakening effects of ochratoxin A, ochratoxin α, citrinin and dihydrocitrinone. The transfer and transport properties of the mycotoxins across the barrier formed by porcine brain capillary endothelial cell monolayers were analysed using HPLC-MS/MS. High levels of Ochratoxin A caused cytotoxic and barrier-weakening effects, whereas ochratoxin α, citrinin and dihydrocitrinone showed no adverse effects up to 10 µM. Likely due to efflux transporter proteins, the transfer to the brain compartment was much slower than expected from their high lipophilicity. Due to their slow transfer across the blood-brain barrier, cerebral exposure of ochratoxin A, ochratoxin α, citrinin and dihydrocitrinone is low and neurotoxicity is likely to play a subordinate role in their toxicity at common physiological concentrations.