2. Academic Validation
  3. Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses of Curcumin Alleviation of Ochratoxin A-Induced Hepatotoxicity

Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses of Curcumin Alleviation of Ochratoxin A-Induced Hepatotoxicity

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Dec 21;25(1):168. doi: 10.3390/ijms25010168.
Peng Hui 1,  Xianrui Zheng 2,  Jiao Dong 1,  Fan Lu 1,  Chao Xu 1,  Huan Qu 1,  Xiaoyang Zhu 1,  Yoshinobu Uemoto 3,  Xiaoyang Lv 4,  Zongjun Yin 2,  Wei Sun 4,  Wenbin Bao 1,  Haifei Wang 1 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory for Animal Genetics, Breeding, Reproduction and Molecular Design, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
  • 2 College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
  • 3 Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8572, Japan.
  • 4 International Joint Research Laboratory in Universities of Jiangsu Province of China for Domestic Animal Germplasm Resources and Genetic Improvement, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
PMID: 38203339 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010168
Abstract

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the mycotoxins that poses a serious threat to human and animal health. Curcumin (CUR) is a major bioactive component of turmeric that provides multiple health benefits. CUR can reduce the toxicities induced by mycotoxins, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. To explore the effects of CUR on OTA toxicity and identify the key regulators and metabolites involved in the biological processes, we performed metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of livers from OTA-exposed mice. We found that CUR can alleviate the toxic effects of OTA on body growth and liver functions. In addition, CUR supplementation significantly affects the expressions of 1584 genes and 97 metabolites. Integrated analyses of transcriptomic and metabolomic data showed that the pathways including Arachidonic acid metabolism, Purine metabolism, and Cholesterol metabolism were significantly enriched. Pantothenic acid (PA) was identified as a key metabolite, the exogenous supplementation of which was observed to significantly alleviate the OTA-induced accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species and cell Apoptosis. Further mechanistical analyses revealed that PA can downregulate the expression level of proapoptotic protein Bax, enhance the expression level of Apoptosis inhibitory protein BCL2, and decrease the level of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (pERK1/2). This study demonstrated that CUR can alleviate the adverse effects of OTA by influencing the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles of livers, which may contribute to the application of CUR in food and feed products for the prevention of OTA toxicity.

Keywords

Ochratoxin A; curcumin; hepatotoxicity; metabolome; pantothenic acid; transcriptome.

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