Deoxynivalenol induces toxicity and apoptosis in piglet hippocampal nerve cells via the MAPK signaling pathway

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin capable of producing a variety of toxic effects in human and animals. In this study, the effect of DON treatment on cytotoxicity and apoptotic pathways in piglet hippocampal nerve cells (PHNCs) was determined. The effects of DON on cellular morphology, cell activity, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, the protein expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and the relative expression of key genes related to apoptosis were evaluated. The results indicated that DON significantly inhibited cellular viability and promoted the release of LDH by damaging the membrane integrity of PHNCs, however, the cellular viability was increased and LDH leakage rate were decreased after adding MAPK inhibitors. DON induced PHNCs apoptosis and phosphorylation of MAPK pathway proteins dose-dependently. The ratios of phospho p-JNK/JNK and p-p38/p38 significantly increased with the increase of DON concentration, while the p-ERK/ERK ratio significantly decreased. In addition, DON upregulated the BAX mRNA level, and downregulated the BCL2 mRNA level. Pre-incubation with inhibitors of JNK (SP600125) and p38 (SB202190) significantly decreases the BAX/BCL2 ratio. However, pre-incubation with the inhibitor of ERK (U0126), significantly increased the BAX/BCL2 ratio. These data demonstrated that DON induces toxic effects and apoptosis in PHNCs via the MAPK signaling pathway.