27-Hydroxycholesterol/liver X receptor/apolipoprotein E mediates zearalenone-induced intestinal immunosuppression: A key target potentially linking zearalenone and cancer

• Main Authors: Haonan Ruan (Author), Jing Zhang (Author), Yunyun Wang (Author), Ying Huang (Author), Jiashuo Wu (Author), Chunjiao He (Author), Tongwei Ke (Author), Jiaoyang Luo (Author), Meihua Yang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2024-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that extensively contaminates food and feed, posing a significant threat to public health. However, the mechanisms behind ZEN-induced intestinal immunotoxicity remain unclear. In this study, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were exposed to ZEN at a dosage of 5 mg/kg/day b.w. for a duration of 14 days. The results demonstrated that ZEN exposure led to notable pathological alterations and immunosuppression within the intestine. Furthermore, ZEN exposure caused a significant reduction in the levels of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and liver X receptor (LXR) (P < 0.05). Conversely, it upregulated the levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) markers (P < 0.05) and decreased the presence of 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-HC) in the intestine (P < 0.05). It was observed that ApoE or LXR agonists were able to mitigate the immunosuppressive effects induced by ZEN. Additionally, a bioinformatics analysis highlighted that the downregulation of ApoE might elevate the susceptibility to colorectal, breast, and lung cancers. These findings underscore the crucial role of the 27-HC/LXR/ApoE axis disruption in ZEN-induced MDSCs proliferation and subsequent inhibition of T lymphocyte activation within the rat intestine. Notably, ApoE may emerge as a pivotal target linking ZEN exposure to cancer development.

Item Description

2095-1779
10.1016/j.jpha.2023.08.002