title: Inhibitory effect of trichothecene mycotoxins on bovine platelets stimulated by platelet activating factor.
abstract: Several species of fungi, which infect cereals and grains, can produce a class of compounds, known as trichothecene mycotoxins, which is characterized by a substituted epoxy-trichothecene ring structure. Cattle are susceptible to intoxication from feeds contaminated with T-2 toxin, one of the more potent trichothecene mycotoxins, while swine refuse to ingest feed contaminated with T-2 toxin. The bovine platelet has been used as a model cell system to evaluate the effects of T-2 toxin and its natural metabolites, HT-2 toxin and T-2 tetraol, on cell function in vitro. Due to the lipophilic nature of these mycotoxins, a biologically active phospholipid was used to stimulate the platelets in the presence and absence of the toxins. The mycotoxin T-2 toxin and its major metabolite HT-2 toxin inhibited platelet activating factor-stimulated bovine platelets, suspended in homologous plasma, in a concentration but not time dependent manner. Significant inhibition of platelet function (p less than 0.01) occurred with 135 ng T-2 toxin per 10(6) platelets and with 77 ng HT-2 toxin per 10(6) platelets. These mycotoxins exerted an additive inhibitory effect on the platelet aggregation response. In contrast, the minor metabolite T-2 tetraol had no inhibitory effect on platelet function and had no influence on the responses of T-2 toxin or HT-2 toxin when the mycotoxins were present together in the platelet suspensions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ontario.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gentry
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bondy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects*; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D008954:Models, Biological; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013605:T-2 Toxin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D014255:Trichothecenes / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010972:Platelet Activating Factor; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D014255:Trichothecenes; C046700:T-2 tetraol; D013605:T-2 Toxin; C012351:HT-2 toxin