Publications by authors named "V Zingales"

Mycotoxins are among the most concerning natural toxic food contaminants. Over the years, significant efforts have been made to characterize the risk associated with their exposure. However, assessing their toxicity has so far been elusive due to the lack of adequate models that closely mimic the physiological conditions of human cells .

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Article Synopsis
  • Humans face potential health risks from mycotoxins in their diet, but most risk assessments don't consider the effects of exposure to multiple mycotoxins at once.
  • This study examined the combined toxic effects of three specific mycotoxins—sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin A, and patulin—on human neuroblastoma and healthy mesenchymal stem cells using advanced 3D cell cultures.
  • Findings showed that exposures to these mycotoxins together increased their toxic effects compared to individual exposures, emphasizing the need for better regulatory measures that address mycotoxin mixtures in food.
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Chlorpyrifos (CPF), a widely used broad-spectrum organophosphate pesticide, has been associated with various adverse health effects in animals and humans. While its primary mechanism of action involves the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, secondary mechanisms have also been suggested. The aim of the present study was to explore the secondary mechanisms of action involved in CPF-induced acute cytotoxicity using human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells.

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The T-2 toxin (T-2) is a type A trichothecene found in cereals. The formation of metabolites is a frequent cause of mycotoxin-induced toxicity. In this work, the conversion of T-2 during biotransformation reactions in HepG2 cells was evaluated.

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Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi associated with a variety of acute and chronic foodborne diseases. Current toxicology studies mainly rely on monolayer cell cultures and animal models, which are undeniably affected by several limitations. To bridge the gap between the current in vitro toxicology approach and the in vivo predictability of the data, we here investigated the cytotoxic effects induced by the mycotoxins sterigmatocystin (STE), ochratoxin A (OTA) and patulin (PAT) on different 2D and 3D cell cultures.

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