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Acute and subchronic effects on immune responses of carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) after exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) in feed

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Abstract

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) has been shown to regularly occur at relevant concentrations in feed designed for aquaculture use, but little is known about the consequences of its presence on the organisms that consume the DON-contaminated feed. Previous studies indicated a down-regulation of pro-inflammatory responses in carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) after 4 weeks of feeding DON. The present study examined the time course of innate immune responses of carp to orally administered DON. Changes in mRNA levels of immune genes in different organs (head kidney, trunk kidney, spleen, liver, and intestine) were observed indicating immune-modulating properties of DON. The immune-modulatory effects during the acute phase of DON exposure were characterized by the activation of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in carp. The subchronic responses to DON were characterized by activation of arginases culminating in increased arginase activity in head kidney leukocytes after 26 days of DON treatment. These results suggest profound effects of this mycotoxin on fish in aquaculture.

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Acknowledgments

The work of CP was supported by the Basler Stiftung für Experimentelle Zoologie (Basel, Switzerland), the Reisefonds zur Nachwuchsförderung of the University of Basel (Basel, Switzerland), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) by MB. BAK was supported by a NSERC Doctoral Canadian Graduate Scholarship. Furthermore, the authors like to thank Simon Herzog, Michael Schlachter, Florian Nagel, Heidi Schiffer, Irene Kalchhauser, and Joel Gerber for support during the samplings and additional help in the laboratory work. We would also like to thank Sven Dänicke (Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Braunschweig, Germany) for the analysis of DON in the experimental feeds.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Gruental, P.O. Box, 8820, Waedenswil, Switzerland

    Constanze Pietsch

  2. Man–Society–Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, University Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland

    Constanze Pietsch & Patricia Burkhardt-Holm

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada

    Barbara A. Katzenback, Erick Garcia-Garcia, Miodrag Belosevic & Patricia Burkhardt-Holm

  4. Gesellschaft für Marine Aquakultur (GMA) mbH, Hafentörn 3, 25761, Büsum, Germany

    Carsten Schulz

  5. Institute for Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian Albrechts-University of Kiel, Olshausestr. 40, 24098, Kiel, Germany

    Carsten Schulz

  6. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada

    Barbara A. Katzenback

  7. Casa d’Estudis El pont, C/Cervantes 27-bajo, 30150, Villajoyosa, Spain

    Erick Garcia-Garcia

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  1. Constanze Pietsch
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  2. Barbara A. Katzenback
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Correspondence to Constanze Pietsch.

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Pietsch, C., Katzenback, B.A., Garcia-Garcia, E. et al. Acute and subchronic effects on immune responses of carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) after exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON) in feed. Mycotoxin Res 31, 151–164 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0226-6

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