A Novel Effect of Nivalenol (NIV) on the Immune Response

Abstract

In this study, the effect of nivalenol (NIV), a trichothecenemycotoxin produced by Fusmium nivale, on the immune response, especially the T helper 2 (Th2) response, was evaluatedin ovalbumin (OVA)-specific Tcell receptor(TCR)ap-transgenic (Tg) mice. This mouse develops naive T helper (Th) cells as a Th2 subset and produces OVA-specific serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) upon oral administration of OVA. In in vitro experiments using spleen cells from untreated OVA-TCR Tg mice, NIV was found to inhibit of OVA-induced interleukin-4 (E-4) and interleukin-5 (IL-5) production. Especially, IL-4 production was completely inhibited In in vivo experiments, dietary N N also suppressed the production of OVA-specific IgE, IgG1 and IgA, as well as total IgE production, although it failed to inhibit total IgGl and IgA production as determined by monitoring the levels in serum. These results demonstrate that NIV selectively inhibits of antigen-specific Th2 responses, without leading to total loss of Th2 responses. Here we report a novel function of NIV with respect to the allergic response and this finding has important implications for orally induced antigen-specific modulation of food allergy.