Influence of mycotoxins on spontaneous contraction in myometrial strips of prepubertal lamb

The effects of mycotoxin zearalenone and their major metabolites α- and β-zearalenol on spontaneous contractions in isolated lamb uterine smooth muscle were examined. The study was carried out on 20 female prepubertal lambs aged between 45 and 50 days. Myometrial strips were set up in two isolated organ baths (10 ml) at 37 °C and were exposed to increasing concentrations (10−11 M–10−6 M) of these mycoestrogens and results were compared with the effect, at the same concentrations, of natural estrogen 17β-estradiol. Our findings suggest that mycotoxins and 17β-estradiol, at nanomolar concentrations, rapidly enhance phasic spontaneous smooth muscle contraction. In particular, zearalenone increases the uterine activity similarly to 17β-estradiol. On the contrary, its metabolite α-zearalenol significantly inhibits myometrial contractility.