Nrf2: the key target for antagonizing the toxicity of deoxynivalenol.
Song C, Zhu K, Zhuang Y, Jia H, Liu A
Summary
PubMedWhy it matters This matters because the grain in your bread, pasta, and cereal is routinely contaminated with this fungal toxin, and understanding how natural plant-derived compounds can protect your body from it could shape safer food choices and farming practices.
A toxic substance called deoxynivalenol is made by mold that grows on grains like wheat and corn, and eating contaminated food over time can harm your liver, gut, and immune system. Researchers found that a protective protein inside our cells acts like a dimmer switch — a little stress from the toxin turns it on and shields the cell, but too much stress overwhelms it and the cell gets hurt. Encouragingly, certain natural compounds found in plant extracts and nutrients can boost this protective protein and help the body fight back against the toxin's damage.
chevron_right Technical Details
A common mold toxin found in wheat, corn, and other grains can damage the liver, gut, and immune system. This review identifies a key cellular protein (Nrf2) as the central switch that determines whether cells survive or are harmed by this toxin — and catalogs natural compounds that can flip that switch protectively.
Key Findings
Nrf2 activation follows a 'threshold effect': moderate oxidative stress from DON triggers protective cellular responses, while excessive stress suppresses Nrf2 and accelerates cell damage.
Plant extracts, amino acids, selenium, and microbial preparations were identified as Nrf2-targeting agents capable of reducing DON-induced organ toxicity.
Nrf2 modulation can simultaneously suppress oxidative damage, inflammation, ferroptosis (an iron-driven cell death), apoptosis, and endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by DON exposure.
Abstract Preview
Chronic exposure to deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated food and feed poses significant hepatotoxic, enterotoxic, and immunotoxic risks to humans and animals. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related facto...
open_in_new Read full abstract on PubMedAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
This matters because it could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without ...