Proceeding of Veterinary and Animal Science Days 2016, 8th- 10th June, Milan, Italy 

HAF © 2013 

Vol. III, No. 1s  ISSN: 2283-3927 

   

 

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Keywords 

Beauvericin, Caco-2 cells, 

Deoxynivalenol, Fumonisin B1, 

Toxicity 

 

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 

Marco Albonico 

marco.albonico@unimi.it 

 

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In vitro toxicity of beauvericin alone and 

combined with fumonisin B1 or 

deoxynivalenol on Caco-2 cells. 

 

M. Albonicoa*, C. Cortinovisb, F. Calonia 

a Department of Veterinary Medicine (DIMEVET), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via 

Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy 

b Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety (VESPA), Università degli Studi 

di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy 

Abstract 

Beauvericin (BEA) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, frequently occurring in cereal grains in 

combination with fumonisin B1 (FB1) and deoxynivalenol (DON). The aim of this study was to evaluate 

the in vitro toxic effects of BEA alone and combined with FB1 or DON on human intestinal Caco-2 cells 

cultured on semi-permeable inserts (Caloni et al., 2012). Caco-2 cells were treated for 24 h with BEA (1.5 

µM) alone and combined with FB1 (1.5 µM) or DON (3.5 µM) on both apical (Ap) and basolateral (Bl) 

sides. Barrier impairment was assessed by measuring the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) 

after 1 h, 2 h and 24 h of treatment. At the end of the experiment, the culture medium was collected for 

interleukin-8 (IL-8) determination. The results indicate that TEER was not significantly affected by Ap or 

Bl exposure to BEA and FB1 alone, whereas a significant decrease (P<0.05) of TEER was observed after 

exposure to BEA in combination with FB1 for 1 h and 2 h. DON was found to decrease (P<0.05) TEER 

alone and combined with BEA after Bl application starting from the second hour of treatment. No 

significant release of the inflammatory mediator IL-8 was observed after Ap or Bl exposure to BEA and 

FB1 alone and in combination. On the contrary, DON alone and combined with BEA induced a significant 

(P<0.05) release of IL-8 after both Ap and Bl exposure. Further investigations are underway to better 

clarify the effects of BEA on the intestinal epithelium and its interaction with other fusariotoxins. 

 

References 

Caloni, F., Cortinovis, C., Pizzo, F., De Angelis, I., 2012. Transport of Aflatoxin M1 in Human Intestinal Caco-2/TC7 Cells. Front. 

Pharmacol. 3, 111.  

 

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