Opposing immunomodulatory effects of the Alternaria mycotoxin tenuazonic acid in immune and intestinal epithelial cells
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Tenuazonic acid (TeA) is one of the most frequently detected Alternaria mycotoxins in contaminated food. Despite its frequent occurrence, its immunomodulatory effects remain insufficiently characterized. Therefore, the present study investigated the impact of TeA on inflammatory signaling and cytokine regulation in monocytes and intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) models. NF-κB activity was assessed using a reporter gene assay in THP1-Lucia™ monocytes, while cytokine mRNA expression and protein secretion were quantified in Caco-2 and HCEC-1CT cells by qRT-PCR and ELISA, respectively.
In THP-1 monocytes, TeA significantly suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NF-κB activation in a concentration-dependent manner starting at 25 μM, while cytotoxicity occurred only at concentrations ≥100 μM. In HCEC-1CT and differentiated Caco-2 cells, TeA increased IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α mRNA levels at non-cytotoxic concentrations (≥10 μM). In Caco-2 cells, these transcriptional changes were accompanied by increased cytokine secretion, whereas HCEC-1CT cells showed only partial effects on the protein level after short-term exposure. Following prolonged incubation, TNF-α secretion was increased and IL-6 and IL-8 secretion were slightly reduced. IL-10 remained unaffected under all conditions.
Overall, TeA exerted cell type-dependent immunomodulatory effects characterized by immunoinhibitory activity in monocytes and pro-inflammatory responses in IECs, highlighting the complex immunotoxic potential of this Alternaria mycotoxin.
