Balkan (Endemic) Nephropathy and a Toxin-Producing Strain of Penicillium Verrucosum Var Cyclopium: An Experimental Model in Rats

Abstract

Cultures of an isolate of Penicillium verrucosum var. cyclopium, obtained from stored maize in an area of Balkan (endemic) nephropathy--Vratza, Bulgaria--has consistently induced renal tubular lesions when force-fed to rats for 20 days. The lesions, confined to the lower reaches of the proximal convoluted tublues (pars recta and junctional zone), closely resemble the tubular changes in patients with Balkan nephropathy. Preliminary evidence suggests that this nephrotoxin-producing strain of P. verrucosum var. cyclopium may be implicated in the aetiology of Balkan nephropathy.

Environmental Conditions That Facilitate Ochratoxin Contamination of Agricultural Commodities

“…The three species have been identified as nominal inhabitants of Danish barley (Welling, 1970). P. cyclopiirm has been characterized as one of the dominant microbes on stored, highmoisture barley in England and a nephrotoxic strain has been isolated from maize in the Balkan nephropathy area (Barnes et al, 1977;Mulinge & Chesters, 1970); P. viridicatrim and P . pnlitaris were routinely observed in Canadian commodities contaminated with ochratoxin (Scott et al, 1972).…”

Mycotoxin induction of somatic mosaicism in Drosophila and DNA repair in mammalian liver cell cultures

“…Of these AFB~ is carcinogenic , while the remaining three are suspected to be. Citrinin induced renal adenomas in rats and, in combination with other mycotoxins, it is presumably associated with Balkan (endemic) nephropathy in man accompanied by a higher incidence of kidney and urinary tract tumors (Arai and Hibino, 1983;Barnes et al, 1977). Only subcutaneously injected patulin (Dickens and Jones, 1961) was found to induce tumors in rats.…”

Renal Histopathological Responses to Nephrotoxic <i>Penicillium aurantiogriseum</i> in the Rat during Pregnancy, Lactation and after Weaning

“…Many isolates of the common food-spoilage mould Peni cillium aurantiogriseum from the Balkans and from western Europe are nephrotoxic in the rat [1][2][3][4][5]. The apparently organ-specific renal histopathological responses have re cently been differentiated into distinct acute and chronic changes [6][7][8].…”