0000000000857713
AUTHOR
Veronica Zingales
showing 10 related works from this author
Climate Change and Effects on Molds and Mycotoxins
2022
Earth’s climate is undergoing adverse global changes as an unequivocal result of anthropogenic activity. The occurring environmental changes are slowly shaping the balance between plant growth and related fungal diseases. Climate (temperature, available water, and light quality/quantity; as well as extreme drought, desertification, and fluctuations of humid/dry cycles) represents the most important agroecosystem factor influencing the life cycle stages of fungi and their ability to colonize crops, survive, and produce toxins. The ability of mycotoxigenic fungi to respond to Climate Change (CC) may induce a shift in their geographical distribution and in the pattern of mycotoxin occurrence. …
Occurrence, mitigation and in vitro cytotoxicity of nivalenol, a type B trichothecene mycotoxin - Updates from the last decade (2010-2020).
2021
Abstract The present review aims to give an overview of the literature of the last decade (2010–2020) concerning the occurrence of the type B trichothecene mycotoxin nivalenol (NIV) and its in vitro toxicity, with the purpose of updating information regarding last researches on this mycotoxin. The most recent studies on the possible methods for preventing Fusarium spp. growth and NIV production are also discussed. Recently, various environmental factors have been shown to influence strongly NIV occurrence. However, Fusarium spp. of the NIV genotype have been found almost worldwide. With regard to NIV cytotoxicity, NIV has been reported to cause a marked decrease in cell proliferation in dif…
Role of quercetin on sterigmatocystin-induced oxidative stress-mediated toxicity.
2021
Oxidative stress appears to be a common trigger for many of the effects associated with the exposure to various mycotoxins, including sterigmatocystin (STE). However, studies to alleviate STE toxicity through the use of natural antioxidants are sparsely reported in literature. In the present study, the cytoprotective effect of quercetin (QUE) was tested in SH-SY5Y cells against STE-induced oxidative stress and cytotoxicity. The MTT assay revealed that STE decreased cell viability, whereas pre-treatment of cells with QUE restored it. The QUE was also found to counteract STE-induced ROS generation and decrease STE-induced up-regulation of the expression of the stress-inducible enzymes HO-1 an…
Sterigmatocystin-induced cytotoxicity via oxidative stress induction in human neuroblastoma cells.
2020
Abstract Sterigmatocystin (STE) is a mycotoxin produced by fungi of the genus Aspergillus. Considering that the effect of STE on neuronal system has not been well studied, the aim of the present study consists to investigate the cytotoxic effects of STE in human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells. Moreover, the role of oxidative stress and intracellular defense systems was assessed by evaluating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and antioxidant no-enzymatic (GSH) levels and enzymatic (GPx, GST, CAT and SOD) activity. Our results revealed that STE decreased cell viability in a dose and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, after 24 h of exposure, STE induced an incr…
Cytotoxic effects of individual and combined sterigmatocystin and nivalenol on liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells
2020
Abstract Since humans are exposed to different mycotoxins through daily intake, there is increasing concern about the adverse effects of the interactions between them. Cytotoxicity of sterigmatocystin (STE) and nivalenol (NIV) alone and in combination in human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Furthermore, ROS production and alteration of ΔΨm as mechanisms of action were assessed. Cells were treated with concentrations ranging from 0.15 to 5 μM for NIV and from 0.78 to 50 μM for STE individually and in binary combinations. The combination ratio between the mixture STE + NIV was 10:1. The IC50 values of NIV ranged from 0.96 to 0.66 μM, whereas no IC50 values were obta…
Sterigmatocystin: Occurrence, toxicity and molecular mechanisms of action – A review
2020
The mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (STE) is produced mainly by Aspergillus fungi. It has been reported to occur in grains and grain-based products, cheese, coffee, spices and beer. The STE is a known biogenic precursor of aflatoxin B1, sharing with it several structural and biological similarities. The STE has been shown to be hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic in animals and it has been classified as possible human carcinogen (group 2B) by IARC. The STE has been reported to cause a marked decrease in cell proliferation in different mammalian cells. Data available on literature suggest that the cellular mechanisms underlying STE-induced toxicity include the induction of oxidative stress, mitochondrial…
Sterigmatocystin-induced DNA damage triggers cell-cycle arrest via MAPK in human neuroblastoma cells
2021
Sterigmatocystin (STE) is a common mycotoxin found in food and feed. Many studies showed that STE is genotoxic. However, up to now, the potential genotoxicity of STE on human neuronal system remains unknown. In this study, we explored the effect of STE on DNA damage and cell-cycle progression on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells exposed to various concentrations of STE (0.78, 1.56 and 3.12 µM) for 24 h. The results indicated that STE exposure induced DNA damage, as evidenced by DNA comet tails formation and increased γH2AX foci. Additionally, genotoxicity was confirmed by micronuclei (MN) analysis. Furthermore, we found that STE exposure led to cell-cycle arrest at the S and the G2/M phase.…
The role of mitochondria in sterigmatocystin-induced apoptosis on SH-SY5Y cells
2020
Mitochondria are cellular organelles involved in many crucial functions, such as generation of energy (ATP) and initiation of apoptosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of mitochondria in the toxicity induced by sterigmatocystin (STE), a mycotoxin produced by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, on SH-SY5Y cells. Our results showed that STE exposure decreased cell viability in a time- and concentration-dependent manner by MTT assay and caused mitochondrial dysfunction, as highlighted by the increase of STE cytotoxicity in cells forced to rely on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, intracellular ATP depletion and increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen spec…
Development of an in vitro neuroblastoma 3D model and its application for sterigmatocystin-induced cytotoxicity testing
2021
Abstract Given the increasing importance of establishing better risk assessments for mycotoxins, novel in vitro tools for the evaluation of their toxicity are mandatory. In this study, an in vitro 3D spheroid model from SH-SY5Y cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line, was developed, optimized and characterized to test the cytotoxic effects caused by the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (STE). STE induced a concentration- and time-dependent cell viability decrease in spheroids. Spheroids displayed cell disaggregation after STE exposure, increasing in a dose-dependent manner and over time. STE also induced apoptosis as confirmed by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. Following the decrease…
Mecanismos de acción citotóxica producidos por la esterigmatocistina en las células sh-sy5y de neuroblastoma humano
2021
En la presente Tesis Doctoral se ha llevado a cabo la evaluación in vitro de los efectos producidos por la micotoxina esterigmatocistina (STE) en células de mamífero. El conocimiento de los efectos tóxicos y exposición a dicha micotoxina permite una mejor caracterización de los riesgos de la población. Se ha evaluado la citotoxicidad individual de la STE en células de neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) y de carcinoma hepatocelular humano (HepG2), mostrando valores de IC50 únicamente en las células SH-SY5Y. Debido a que la exposición simultánea o secuencial a múltiples micotoxinas podría dar lugar a efectos adversos sobre la salud del consumidor, se ha evaluado la citotoxicidad combinada de la STE con …