EFFECTS OF PENICILLIUM MYCOTOXINS: CITRININ, OCHRATOXIN A, AND PATULIN ON IN VITRO PROLIFERATION OF BOVINE LYMPHOCYTES

In the presented study, ochratoxin A (OTA), patulin (PAT), and citrinit (CIT), three prevalent mycotoxins of Penicillium species, were evaluated for their response of bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated in vitro by the mitogens: phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The cultures of PBMC were assayed after 3-day incubation using 3 H-thymidine uptake and the MTT bioassay. The concentrations of mycotoxins necessary to reduce the proliferatve response of PBMC by 50%, for PHA, Con A, and PWM as measured by 3 H-thymidine incorporation were as follows: OTA - 0.35, 0.78, and 0.51 µg/ml; PAT - 0.12, 0.20, and 0.10 µg/ml; CIT - 1.46, 1.35, and 1.25 µg/ml, respectively. The concentration of mycotoxins causing 50% inhibition of PHA, Con A, and PWM stimulated PBMC proliferation by the MTT bioassay were for OTA - 1.69, 1.80, and 1.85 µg/ml; PAT – 0.64, 0.48, and 0.55 µg/ml; and CIT - 12.3, 10.04, and 10.9 µg/ml, respectively. According to this study, proliferative effect as measured by 3 H-thymidine incorporation was more