Experimental mycotoxic nephropathy in pigs provoked by a mouldy diet containing ochratoxin A and fumonisin B1

Mycotoxic nephropathy was induced in eighteen young pigs by mouldy diets containing 0.5 ppm ochratoxin A (OTA) and/or 10 ppm fumonisin B1 (FB1) for three months. While the most obvious damages provoked by OTA were seen in the kidneys as expressed by the strong degenerative changes in proximal tubules and fibrosis in kidneys, FB1 was found to induce an increase in permeability of vessels mainly in lung, brain, cerebellum or kidneys and slight to moderate degenerative changes in kidneys. Pathomorphological damages in pigs exposed to both mycotoxins simultaneously present a combination of the main lesions provoked by each mycotoxin alone being stronger in their expression. Biochemical investigations as expressed by the increase of serum creatinine, urea and enzyme activity of ASAT/ALAT and by the decrease of serum cholesterol, total protein, albumin and glucose were strongest in pigs exposed to both mycotoxins simultaneously as can be anticipated form the strongest lesions in the kidneys. Both mycotoxins and their combination were found to disturb powerfully humoral immune response in all experimental pigs as expressed by the strong decrease in antibody titer against Morbus Aujesky at days 21 and 35 after vaccination. Having in mind that the feed levels of the both mycotoxins as well as the exposure time and the pathological findings corresponded to those in some spontaneous cases of porcine nephropathy in Bulgaria and South Africa, it can be concluded that the same mycotoxins are involved in the observed field cases of that nephropathy.