Effect of the mycotoxin, ochratoxin A, on hormone-stimulated ion transport in a cultured cell model of the renal principal cell.

The mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) is a common contaminant of many foodstuffs and, consequently, is present in a large proportion of tested populations of humans and commercial animals. The predominant effects of OTA are manifested in the kidney where the severity varies from salt wasting to renal carcinoma formation in a concentration-dependent fashion. The MDCK-C7 renal cell culture model responds to various hormones known to regulate electrolyte and fluid balance and was used as a model to study the chronic effects of an acute exposure to low dose OTA.