In vitro investigation of toxicological interactions between the fusariotoxins deoxynivalenol and zearalenone

• DON and ZEN caused a marked decrease of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner.
• DON and ZEN triggered an activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic process; characterized by PTP opening and the loss of ΔΨm.
• Combined DON and ZEN reduced all the toxicities observed with the mycotoxins separately.
• DON/ZEN combination seems to be a sub-additive response.

It is expected that humans are exposed to combined mycotoxins, which occur simultaneously in the food items, than to individual compounds and that can increase their potential toxicity. Considering this coincident production, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) as they are produced by several Fusarium species, can interfere at a cellular level. Therefore, these two toxins were chosen to study their interactive effects on human colon carcinoma cells (HCT116), using the endpoints including cell viability, cell cycle analysis, mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) determination and permeability transition pore (PTP) opening. Our results showed that DON and ZEN caused a marked decrease of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, mediated by an activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic process; characterized by PTP opening and the loss of ΔΨm. Nevertheless, combined DON and ZEN reduced all the toxicities observed with the mycotoxins separately. Therefore, the combination of the two mycotoxins appears as a sub-additive response.