Abstract
Intestinal epithelial cells represent the frontline of host defense against invasion by enteric pathogens and uptake of potentially harmful substances. Mycotoxins are deleterious feed contaminants routinely found in cereal grains used in livestock feed. Development of strategies to eliminate mycotoxins and mitigate their harmful effects on the animal is of major importance to the livestock industry. The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON), a common mycotoxin contaminant, and selected prebiotic, probiotic, and essential oil blended feed additives, on viability and integrity in porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). IPEC-J2 cells were grown on either plastic or semipermeable membranes until 100% confluence and treated with DON (12.5 uM) with or without additives (0.01 mg/mL Biolex® and 0.0001 mg/mL Encinnate®, Biomatrix Inc.) Use of DON at 12.5 uM decreased the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) by 37.5% compared to control, and led to 88.7% increase in FITC-dextran permeability after 3 days of culture, but with no negative effects on cell viability. The decrease in TEER by DON was minimized in the presence of Biolex (22.2%) and Encinnate (20.5%) relative to control. Treatment with DON also decreased the mRNA (24.0%) and protein abundance (64.4%) of claudin 3 and this was partially reversed by the additives, 11.5 and 11.0% decrease for claudin 3 mRNA and 58.7 and 56.7% decrease for the protein relative to control for Biolex and Encinnate, respectively. In summary, DON led to impaired epithelial tight junction integrity and this was partially rescued by the additives tested.