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Curcumin alleviates AFB1-induced nephrotoxicity in ducks: regulating mitochondrial oxidative stress, ferritinophagy, and ferroptosis

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Abstract

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), an extremely toxic mycotoxin that extensively contaminates feed and food worldwide, poses a major hazard to poultry and human health. Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric, has attracted great attention due to its wonderful antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, effects of curcumin on the kidneys of ducks exposed to AFB1 remain unclear. Additionally, the underlying mechanism between AFB1 and ferroptosis (based on excessive lipid peroxidation) has not been sufficiently elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and potential mechanisms of curcumin against AFB1-induced nephrotoxicity in ducklings. The results indicated that curcumin alleviated AFB1-induced growth retardation and renal distorted structure in ducklings. Concurrently, curcumin inhibited AFB1-induced mitochondrial-mediated oxidative stress by reducing the expression levels of oxidative damage markers malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and improved the expression of mitochondria-related antioxidant enzymes and the Nrf2 pathway. Notably, curcumin attenuated iron accumulation in the kidney, inhibited ferritinophagy via the NCOA4 pathway, and balanced iron homeostasis, thereby alleviating AFB1-induced ferroptosis in the kidney. Collectively, our results suggest that curcumin alleviates AFB1-induced nephrotoxicity in ducks by inhibiting mitochondrial-mediated oxidative stress, ferritinophagy, and ferroptosis and provide new evidence for the mechanism of AFB1-induced nephrotoxicity in ducklings treated with curcumin.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31402264); the Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau of Guangdong Province (20221285); the Educational Commission of Guangdong Province, China (2021KTSCX012); the Nanning City Science Research and Technology Development Program (2022043); the Independent research project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology (20-065-23-A-2); the Innovation Project of Universities in Guangdong Province (2021ZDZX2072); and the Guangxi Science and Technology Bureau (AA18118051).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Haiyan Liu, Xinglin Gao, Tong Li, Baoxin Qiao, Lixuan Tang, Juan Lan, Qian Su, Zhaoxin Tang & Lianmei Hu

  2. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Guangxi Veterinary Research Institute, Nanning, 530001, China

    Ying He

  3. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Nanning, Guangxi, China

    Ying He

  4. Key Laboratory of China (Guangxi)-ASEAN Cross-border Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Nanning, China

    Ying He

  5. School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Food & Drug Vocational College, No. 321, Longdong North Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510520, Guangdong, China

    Zhiyan Ruan

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  1. Haiyan Liu
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  2. Ying He
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  3. Xinglin Gao
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  4. Tong Li
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  7. Juan Lan
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Contributions

Haiyan Liu: conceptualization, data curation, validation, and writing—original draft. Ying He and Zhiyan Ruan: funding acquisition. Xinglin Gao, Baoxin Qiao, and Qian Su: software and validation. Tong Li: investigation. Lixuan Tang, Juan Lan: data curation and resources. Zhaoxin Tang: resources. Lianmei Hu: conceptualization, validation, writing (review and editing), and project administration.

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Liu, H., He, Y., Gao, X. et al. Curcumin alleviates AFB1-induced nephrotoxicity in ducks: regulating mitochondrial oxidative stress, ferritinophagy, and ferroptosis. Mycotoxin Res 39, 437–451 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-023-00504-3

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