Ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin produced by several Aspergillus and Penicillium species, is a worldwide contaminant of food and feedstuffs. It is nephrotoxic, immunosuppressive and carcinogenic in several animal species. The mechanism by which OTA acts is not fully understood up to now. Here, OTA was evaluated for mutagenicity in the Salmonella typhimurium assay (Ames assay) and in the HPRT assay with V79 hamster fibroblasts. In the bacterial assay using the strains TA 98, TA 100, TA 1535, TA 1538, TA 102 and TA 104, OTA was not mutagenic at a concentration range from 0.01 to 500 micro M in the presence and absence of an external metabolising enzyme system (rat liver S9 enzyme mix). In V79 fibroblasts, cytotoxicity of OTA was estimated with the neutral red uptake assay. An IC(50) of 11.6 micro M was found in the absence and an IC(50) of 6.4 micro M in the presence of S9 mix. In the subsequent HPRT (hypoxanthine-guanine-phosphoribosyl-transferase) assay with V79 cells the negative result of the bacterial assay was confirmed using OTA in concentrations from 0.1 to 100 micro M. In order to obtain converted OTA metabolites from viable, metabolically competent cells, a preincubation of primary cultured rat hepatocytes with 0.016 to 0.8 micro M OTA was performed. The resulting culture medium, which contained OTA metabolites, was tested in both mutagenicity assays. Again, no mutagenic effect was detected either in the bacterial or in the mammalian test assay. In accordance with several literature data, the present results imply that OTA does not act as direct mutagen. Additionally, the OTA metabolites derived from cultured rat hepatocytes or rat liver S9 mix, also, do not have a mutagenic potency in the test systems used.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.