Toxic plants and companion animals.

Poisoning by substances of plant origin is unusual in both dogs and cats, yet it is possible; as many veterinarians do not know which plants can contain toxic active principles, the possibility of intoxication by ornamental plants commonly used to decorate houses, gardens and parks cannot be considered in clinical practice; on the other hand, overestimating the problem is the opposite risk. Being aware of the conditions under which these poisonings can occur and carrying out all the necessary preventive measures, poisoning incidence can be reduced. The aim of the present work is to help veterinarians to know which plants can be responsible, even occasionally, for intoxication in companion animals. This review is not a botanical report, so specific works are suggested for a more detailed description of the plants mentioned; nevertheless, for each plant, the parts responsible for the intoxication, toxic principles and clinical symptoms following the ingestion of the latter and the correct therapeutic practice in cases of such poisoning are described

Effects of four Fusarium toxins (fumonisin B(1), alpha-zearalenol, nivalenol and deoxynivalenol) on porcine whole-blood cellular proliferation.

The in vitro effects of four Fusarium toxins, fumonisin B1 (FB1), a-zearalenol (a-ZEA), nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON), on mitogen-induced cell proliferation were determined in swine whole-blood cultures. Considering the lack of sufficient toxicological data both on single and in combination effects, in vitro studies may contribute to risk assessment of these toxins. Incubation with increasing concentrations of FB1 did not produce any consequence on proliferation; in contrast a-ZEA, NIV and DON showed an inhibitory effect. Dose–response curves for each mycotoxin were generated. NIV was found to be the most potent toxin followed by DON and a-ZEA. The effects of both FB1 þ a-ZEA and NIVþ DON mixtures were also analysed to investigate possible interactions. The results indicated that combination of FB1þ a-ZEA produces a synergistic inhibition of porcine cell proliferation; whereas there is no interaction between DON and NIV on porcine wholeblood proliferation, at tested concentrations

Trichothecenes NIV and DON modulate the maturation of murinedendritic cells

Nivalenol (NIV) and Deoxynivalenol (DON), mycotoxins of the trichothecene family are considered very common food contaminants. In this work, we investigated whether the immunotoxic effects ascribed to these trichothecenes may be mediated by perturbations in the activity of dendritic cells (DCs). Murine bone marrow-derived DCs were used to evaluate the effects of NIV and DON on the LPS-induced maturation process.We found that the expression of the class II MHC and of the accessory CD11c molecules, but not of the costimulatory CD86 marker, was down-regulated by NIV and DON exposure in LPS-treated DCs, as well as nitric oxide (NO) production. Interestingly, NIV, but not DON, induced DC necrosis. Moreover, the analysis of the cytokine pattern showed that IL-12 and IL-10 expressions induced by LPS exposure were suppressed by both trichothecenes in a dose-dependent fashion. On the other hand, the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFa was increased as a direct consequence of DON and NIV exposure. Taken together, our data indicated that the immunotoxicity of NIV and DON was related to the capacity of both trichothecenes to interfere with phenotypic and functional features of maturing DCs

Mycotoxins nivalenol and deoxynivalenol differently modulate cytokine mRNA expression in Jurkat T cells.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) and its hydroxylated form nivalenol (NIV) are Fusarium mycotoxins that occur in cereal grains alone or in combination. Several studies have shown that these metabolites affect lymphocyte functions. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their activities are still partially known. To address this issue, we examined the influence of NIV and DON in modulating IFNc, IL-2 and IL-8 mRNA levels in Jurkat T cells. In PMA/ionomycin stimulated cells, pre-incubated with increasing concentrations of NIV, transcription was induced in the range 0.06–2 lM; higher concentrations of NIV were found non-stimulating (4 lM) or inhibitory (8 lM) for IFNc and IL-2 whereas IL-8 was still induced. DON administration elicited a similar profile for IL-8 and IFNc, whilst IL-2 mRNA was induced in a broader range of concentrations. Combination of NIV and DON at 1:1 and 1:10 ratios essentially restored the cytokine transcriptional pattern observed with NIV alone but the level of transcripts, with the exception of IL-8, peaked at lower concentrations suggesting interactive effects. Moreover both mycotoxins caused inhibition of cell proliferation, mediated by induction of apoptosis, confirming previous results and highlighting the usefulness of Jurkat as a T-cell model to study the effects of mycotoxins on the immune functions in humans

Recent trends in diagnosing poisoning in domestic animals

In Veterinary Medicine, suspected poisoning often cannot be detected and certified by a Toxicology Laboratory due to many procedural errors and unclear requests for analysis. Therefore, the current study provides guidelines to obtain a definitive diagnosis on poisoning in domestic animals illustrating the multi-step approach to achieve such goal. The Authors describe the components and procedures needed for acquiring a good clinical anamnesis. Moreover, ,the utility and modality to perform a necropsy are described along with the method to collect and dispatch biological materials to Veterinary Toxicology Laboratory. At the end, the analytical techniques currently employed in detection of major toxic substances, responsible for frequent poisoning in domestic animals, are briefly described

Use of phytotherapics in dogs and cats.

Phytotherapy is one of the most utilized non conventional medicines (NCM) both in human and veterinary medicine. It can be used to mitigate and prevent slight diseases and to support conventional medicine using allopathic drugs. In this paper the Authors report the phytoterapeutics most utilized in both dogs and cats, in which the use of phytotherapics is increasing, despite the prejudices of the academic world and of the veterinary practitioners. Laws regarding the use of non conventional medicines in veterinary practises are lacking in Italy, despite many other countries in Europe; yet National Federation of Italian Veterinaries (F.N.O.V.I.) asserted that the use of NCM has to be considered a veterinary practise at all. At the end of this paper, the Authors provided many examples of phytotheapic prescriptions to control different illness in both dogs and cats

EFFECTS OF NDL-PCB ON PORCINE MACROPHAGES: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) causing adverse effects on both humans and animals. Immune system is an important target organ for many environmental contaminants. Macrophages constitute an important component of the immune system of humans and animals, in fact, they are responsible for triggering innate immune responses and host defense. The aim of the current study was to assess the immunomodulatory effects of certain non dioxin like PCBs (PCB 138; PCB 153 and PCB 180) using porcine macrophage 3D4/31 cell line. We evaluated not only the effects induced by the individual congeners but also those deriving from mixtures of more contaminants, in consideration of the fact that co-contamination of the same substrate is common in natural conditions and the effects of simultaneous exposure to multiple contaminants are still little investigated. The results of the current study showed that ndl-PCBs reduced significantly cell viability only at the highest concentration (50 µM); such effect was not linked to apoptosis induction or cell cycle arrest. The contemporary presence of more than one contaminant (differently combined) did not induce any enhancement of effects on 3D4/31 cell line

Method for speciation of organoarsenic in mussels by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization and QTRAP tandem mass spectrometry.

Arsenic toxicity to humans critically depends on the chemical form of the arsenic. The Expert Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization defined a tolerable intake only for inorganic arsenic, although the toxicity of some organoarsenic compounds is known. Arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenocholine (AsC), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) are abundant in shellfish. We present a fast and reliable method for identification of the type of organic arsenic in mussels by using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry on triple quadrupole with parallel determination of total arsenic by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The method was validated by evaluating mean recoveries, repeatability, specificity, limits of quantification, and limits of detection that produced satisfactory results. The method was used to carry out the first survey of the concentrations of AsB, AsC, MMA, and DMA in seafood from southern Italy. Total As concentrations ranged from 1.38 to 12.79 mg/kg. AsB and DMA were detected in all samples (AsB: 0.72 to 10.36 mg/kg; DMA: 0.28 to 1.08 mg/kg), and concentrations of AsC and MMA ranged from 0.20 to 1.53 mg/kg. This method allowed us to rapidly and inexpensively identify arsenic types in fishery products and would be suitable for routine detection of organoarsenic compounds in molluscs

NIVALENOLENOL AND DEOXYNIVALENOL INDUCE APOPTOSIS AND DYSREGULATE WOUND REPAIR IN RAT INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELLS

The gastrointestinal tract represents the first barrier against ingested chemicals, food contaminants and toxins thus its integrity represents a barrier between the internal and external environments. Fusarium mycotoxins, nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are frequently on cereals and processed grains. Following their ingestion, intestinal epithelial cells are exposed to high concentrations of NIV and DON capable to induce mycotoxicosis (Yang et al., 2010). To investigate the effects of NIV and DON we used the intestinal epithelial cell line (IEC-6). The addition of NIV in the culture medium significantly reduced the rate of migration of IEC-6 cells into the denuded area of a model wound. Instead DON slightly reduced the rate of migration of IEC-6 cells into the denuded area compared to IEC-6 cells cultured alone. Interestingly a synergic activity on reducing the rate of migration was observed adding to IEC-6 cells NIV and DON mycotoxins together. Both NIV and DON, tested at higher concentrations (5-80µM) significantly affected IEC-6 cells viability. Moreover propidium iodide analysis revealed that the reduced cell viability was related to an apoptotic process. All together our results reported the effect of NIV and DON on intestinal epithelium highlighting the effect of the few studied NIV and the synergistic activity of both mycotoxins in reducing the IEC-6cell response to epithelial injury