Effects of the Fusarium toxin zearalenone and/or deoxynivalenol on the serum IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels in mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Fusarium toxin zearalenone (ZEA) and/ or deoxynivalenol (DON) on the serum IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels in mice. In our study, 360 healthy adult female mice were randomly assigned to 9 groups for a 12-day study. Mice of all groups were given a 4-day continuous intraperitoneal injection with different concentrations of ZEA alone, DON alone, and the mixture of ZEA and DON, individually. Blood samples were collected in days 0, 3, 5, 8, and 12 of the experiment. The experiment results showed that all of the experimental groups could cause the dysregulation of the IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels, thus affecting the immunity of mice. The mixture groups, especially in the group with higher concentrations of ZEA and DON (Group D2Z2), showed more obvious effect on the dysregulation of the IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels. There was a synergistic effect between DON and ZEA.