Comparison of toxicity induced by HT-2 toxin on human and rat granulo-monocytic progenitors with an in vitro model

Abstract

HT-2 toxin is a trichothecene mycotoxin occuring naturally in various agricultural products. Many in vitro studies have shown that HT-2 toxin is a major metabolite of the parent compound T-2 toxin. In man as well as in animals both toxins have been shown to cause alimentary intoxications and haematological disorders. Granulo- monocytic progenitors (CFU-GM) from human umbilical cord blood and from rat bone marrow were cultured in the presence of HT-2 toxin (10-7M to 10-10M) for 14 days. The concentration-effect relationship was studied and the IC50were determined on Days 7, 10 and 14. The IC50was 1.8 × 10-9M, 3.5 × 10-9M and 1.8 × 10-9M for hu man cells, and 2 × 10-9M, 2.3 × 10-9M and 2.2 × 10-9M for rat cells. The results have been compared with previous findings for T-2 toxin. Although T-2 and HT-2 toxins had a similar IC50on human and rat CFU-GM, the expression of their cytotoxicities was different. These findings are relevant to investigation of the cellular targets of T-2 and HT-2 in elucidating the mechanism of trichothecene haematotoxicity.