T2 Toxin are trichothecene mycotoxins and are the only mycotoxins that have been used in biological warfare. They can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and intestinal hemorrhage, as well as changes in reproductive cycles and infertility. This mycotoxin is known to decrease testosterone.
Mycotoxins are highly diverse secondary metabolites produced in nature by a wide variety of fungus which causes food contamination, resulting in mycotoxicosis in animals and humans. In particular, trichothecenes mycotoxin produced by genus fusarium is agriculturally more important worldwide due to the potential health hazards they pose. It is mainly metabolized and eliminated after ingestion, yielding more than 20 metabolites with the hydroxy trichothecenes-2 toxin being the major metabolite. Trichothecene is hazardously intoxicating due to their additional potential to be topically absorbed, and their metabolites affect the gastrointestinal tract, skin, kidney, liver, and immune and hematopoietic progenitor cellular systems.
Among trichothecenes, T-2 toxin is the most toxic fungal secondary metabolite produced by different Fusarium species. Moreover, T-2 is the most common cause of poisoning that results from the consumption of contaminated cereal-based food and feed reported among humans and animals. The food and feed most contaminated with T-2 toxin is made from wheat, barley, rye, oats, and maize. After exposition or ingestion, T-2 is immediately absorbed from the alimentary tract or through the respiratory mucosal membranes and transported to the liver as a primary organ responsible for toxin's metabolism. Depending on the age, way of exposure, and dosage, intoxication manifests by vomiting, feed refusal, stomach necrosis, and skin irritation, which is rarely observed in case of mycotoxins intoxication.
References:
Adhikari M, Negi B, Kaushik N, Adhikari A, Al-Khedhairy AA, Kaushik NK, Choi EH. T-2 mycotoxin: toxicological effects and decontamination strategies. Oncotarget. 2017 May 16;8(20):33933-33952. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.15422. PMID: 28430618; PMCID: PMC5464924.
Janik E, Niemcewicz M, Podogrocki M, Ceremuga M, Stela M, Bijak M. T-2 Toxin-The Most Toxic Trichothecene Mycotoxin: Metabolism, Toxicity, and Decontamination Strategies. Molecules. 2021 Nov 14;26(22):6868. doi: 10.3390/molecules26226868. PMID: 34833960; PMCID: PMC8618548.
T2 Toxin (IgE)
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