Evaluation of the cytotoxicity of aflatoxin and fumonisin in swine intestinal cells

The coexistence of the aflatoxin (AFB) and fumonisin (FB) has been widely documented in many parts of the world. However, few studies describing the synergy effect of both mycotoxins in vivo and/or in vitro are available. The objective of this study consisted on evaluating the effect of AFB and FB on the morphology, the capacity of cellular proliferation, cytotoxicity and interleukin-8 (IL-8) synthesis in a porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-1). Concerning to the cellular morphology it was only affected in the concentrations higher of AFB (50 microM) and FB (500 microM). However, the cellular proliferation, the cellular damage and synthesis of IL-8 they were affected when present in combination the AFB/FB (1.3/3.7; 2/3.7 and 5/10 microM respectively) with that showed by the individual effect of similar concentrations of these mycotoxins (p < 0.05). Our data indicate that the combination of AFB/FB in low concentrations showed a synergy effect, altering the cellular morphophysiology, which can imply in vivo the entrance of other toxins or biological agents for alteration of the intestinal barrier impacting negatively in the human or animal health.