Work

T-2 toxin induces gut and liver injury through triggering gut microbiota dysbiosis

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: T-2 toxin (T-2), a foodborne mycotoxin, causes gut and liver injury in organisms. However, its effects on intestine in ducks and the mediating role of gut microbiota in pathogenesis remain unclear. This study investigated the involvement of gut microbiota in T-2-induced enterotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in ducks. Thirty 1-day-old ducklings were divided into control (CON) and T-2-exposed (400 μg/kg BW/day via oral gavage) groups for two weeks. Alterations in gut microbiota composition and barrier function were assessed. To further elucidate the role of microbiota, antibiotics mixture (ABX) treatment and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) were employed. Results revealed that T-2 exposure induced ileal dysbiosis characterized by increased relative abundance of Firmicutes, Candidatus Arthromitus, and Lactococcus, decreased Corynebacterium abundance with diminished α-diversity. For gut physical barrier function, ileal villi heights and mRNA levels of mucin2, Occludin, zonula occludens-1 were significantly downregulated by T-2, and serum concentration of lipopolysaccharide was increased. Notably, ABX treatment prevented T-2-induced gut barrier disruption, completely suppressed hepatic inflammation via toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway inhibition. Hepatic lipid accumulation induced by T-2 was significantly attenuated by ABX treatment. Furthermore, FMT confirmed the essential role of T-2-altered microbiota in recapitulating pathological features including intestinal leakage, hepatic inflammation and steatosis, and upregulated TLR4 pathway and lipid metabolism genes (angiopoietin-like 4, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B, perilipin 1) expression. These findings establish gut microbiota as a critical mediator in T-2-induced multiorgan toxicity, providing new insights into the potential therapeutic strategies.

Source: Poultry Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105577

Authors: Keying An, Dan Yan, Xueze Lv, Yanhan Liu, Zhaofei Xia

Institution: China Agricultural University

Language: English

Topic: Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,600