Toxins, Volume 11, Issue 2

Chronic pain is a major medical issue which reduces the quality of life of millions and inflicts a significant burden on health authorities worldwide. Currently, management of chronic pain includes first-line pharmacological therapies that are inadeq...

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), which widely coexist in milk, may pose a serious threat to human health. Mucin is a major component of the intestinal mucus layer, which plays an important role in maintaining intestinal mucosal homeostasis...

Celangulin V (CV) is a compound isolated from Celastrus angulatus Max that has a toxic activity against agricultural insect pests. CV can bind to subunits a, H, and B of the vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) in the midgut epithelial cells of insects. Howeve...

Interaction of Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin (hemolysin A, Hla) with eukaryotic cell membranes is mediated by proteinaceous receptors and certain lipid domains in host cell plasma membranes. Hla is secreted as a 33 kDa monomer that forms heptamer...

Triterpenoid saponins from Saponinum album (SA) significantly augment the cytotoxicity of saporin-based immunotoxins but the mechanism of augmentation is not fully understood. We investigated the effects of six small molecule pharmacological agents,...

Californiconus californicus, previously named Conus californicus, has always been considered a unique species within cone snails, because of its molecular, toxicological and morphological singularities; including the wide range of its diet, since it...

Rapid screening methods are currently recognized as a strategic tool for mycotoxin issues management. Specific guidelines for validation and verification of mycotoxin screening methods are set in the Commission Regulation (EU) No 2014/519. This regul...

A set of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) amplicon vectors expressing the light chains (LC) of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) A, B, C, D, E and F was constructed. Their properties have been assessed in primary cultures of rat embryonic dorsal root g...

When ABC transporter family C2 (ABCC2) and ABC transporter family B1 (ABCB1) were heterologously expressed in non-susceptible cultured cells, the cells swelled in response to Cry1A and Cry3 toxins, respectively. Consistent with the notion that 3D-Cry...

Variability of multi-joint essential tremor (ET) between patients and within the two upper limbs makes a visual assessment for the determination of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) injections challenging. Kinematic tremor analysis guidance has succeed...

Thirty strains of Aspergillus niger, including 27 intended used in the food industry of China, were studied for their ochratoxin A (OTA) production on the three natural substrates—corn, rice, and wheat bran—at different time intervals by high-perform...

To evaluate the effect of cellulosic polymers (CEL) and curcumin (CUR) on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) toxic effects on performance, and the biochemical and immunological parameters in broiler chickens, 150 one-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly alloca...

Applications of beneficial secondary metabolites produced by Monascus purpureus (M. purpureus) could be greatly limited for citrinin, a kidney toxin. The link of NaCl with cell growth and secondary metabolites in M. purpureus was analyzed with supple...

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is the most prevalent fungal species. Although it is a healthy microbiota, genetic and epigenetic alterations in host and pathogen, and microenvironment changes would lead to thrush, vaginal yeast infection, and even he...

Most ribbon worms (phylum: Nemertea) are found in marine environments, where they act as predators and scavengers. They are characterized by an eversible proboscis that is used to hunt for prey and thick mucus covering their skin. Both proboscis and...

The protein abundances of phospholipases A₂ in cobra venom proteomes appear to vary among cobra species. To determine the unique distribution of snake venom phospholipases A₂ (svPLA₂) in the cobras, the svPLA₂ activities for 15 cobra species were exa...

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [...]

Fungal contamination and the consequent mycotoxin production is a hindrance to food and feed safety, international trade and human and animal health. In Africa, fungal contamination by Fusarium and Aspergillus is heightened by tropical climatic condi...

A longitudinal one-year study was conducted to determine aflatoxin M₁ levels in different types of milk marketed in Pakistan. Processed and raw liquid milk from 21 sources, two milk powder and six tea whitener brands were sampled on monthly basis fro...

The adenylate cyclase (CyaA) toxin produced in Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of whooping cough. CyaA exhibits the remarkable capacity to translocate its N-terminal adenyl cyclase domain (ACD) directly across the plasma membrane into the...

The aim of the study was to investigate the toxic effects of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and efficacy of a probiotic preparation containing L. reuteri, L. plantarum, L. pentosus, L. rhamnosus and L. paracasei and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts to ameliorate...

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are found throughout the mammalian body and have been studied extensively because of their implication in a myriad of diseases. α-Conotoxins (α-CTxs) are peptide neurotoxins found in the venom of...

A teratogenic agent or teratogen can disturb the development of an embryo or a fetus. Fumonisin B₁ (FB₁), produced by Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum, is among the most commonly seen mycotoxins and contaminants from stale maize and other...

The authors wish to make the following corrections to their paper [...]

Proteins of the ShK superfamily are characterized by a small conserved domain (ShKT), first discovered in small venom peptides produced by sea anemones, and acting as specific inhibitors of voltage-dependent and calcium-activated K⁺ channels. The ShK...

Aflatoxin contamination of crops is a worldwide problem, and elucidation of the regulatory mechanism of aflatoxin production, for example relative to the oxidative–antioxidative system, is needed. Studies have shown that oxidative stress induce...

Human accidents with spiders of the genus Loxosceles are an important health problem affecting thousands of people worldwide. Patients evolve to severe local injuries and, in many cases, to systemic disturbances as acute renal failure, in which cases...

The equatorial spitting cobra, Naja sumatrana, is a distinct species of medically important venomous snakes, listed as WHO Category 1 in Southeast Asia. The diversity of its venom genes has not been comprehensively examined, although a few toxin sequ...

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a secondary metabolite produced by Fusarium, which is a trichothecene mycotoxin. As the main mycotoxin with high toxicity, wheat, barley, corn and their products are susceptible to contamination of DON. Due to the stability of...

A total of 470 edible vegetable oil samples including peanut, soybean, rapeseed, sesame seed, corn, blend, and others collected from eight provinces of China were analyzed for the concentrations of beauvericin (BEA), enniatin A (ENA), A₁ (ENA₁), B (E...

Routine identification of pathogens by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry) is based on the fingerprint of intracellular proteins. This work evaluated the use of MALDI-TOF MS for the identificati...

The corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a major pest of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize and cotton in the U.S. Reduced efficacy of Bt plants expressing Cry1 and Cry2 against H. zea has been reported in some areas of the U.S. In this study, w...

The potentially self-poisonous toxin-antitoxin modules are widespread in bacterial chromosomes, but despite extensive studies, their biological importance remains poorly understood. Here, we used whole-cell proteomics to study the cellular effects of...

Organisms adaptable to extreme conditions share the ability to establish protective biofilms or secrete defence toxins. The extracellular substances that are secreted may contain monosaccharides and other toxic compounds, but environmental conditions...

Snakebite with hemotoxic venom continues to be a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our laboratory has characterized the coagulopathy that occurs in vitro in human plasma via specialized thrombelastographic methods to determine if ven...

Trimeresurus nebularis is a montane pit viper that causes bites and envenomation to various communities in the central highland region of Malaysia, in particular Cameron’s Highlands. To unravel the venom composition of this species, the venom p...

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is one of the most potent naturally occurring neurotoxins. Initially TTX was associated with human food intoxications in Japan, but nowadays, concerns about the human health risks posed by TTX have increased in Europe after the ide...

Some species of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia produce the toxin domoic acid, which causes amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). Given that bivalve mollusks are filter feeders, they can accumulate these toxins in their tissues. To elucidate the transcriptio...

Toxin-induced Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major disease characterized by severe diarrhea and high morbidity rates. The aim with this study was to develop an alternative drug for the treatment of CDI. Cows were repeatedly immunized to e...

The function of colouration in animals includes concealment, communication and signaling, such as the use of aposematism as a warning signal. Aposematism is unusual in mammals, and exceptions help us to understand its ecology and evolution. The Javan...

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can contribute to the pathogenesis and the clinical symptoms of many diseases such as cancer, mental disorders, neurodegenerative as well as metabolic diseases. The asymptomatic carrier state of Salmonella spp. is a...

Crystalline (Cry) proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used in sprays and transgenic crops to control insect pests, but the evolution of insect resistance threatens their long-term use. Different resistance mechanisms have been identi...

The anti-inflammatory properties of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) are lost in uremia. These HDL may show pro-inflammatory features partially as a result of changed protein composition. Alterations of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) in chronic...

It was recently discovered that Ssm Spooky Toxin (SsTx) with 53 residues serves as a key killer factor in red-headed centipede’s venom arsenal, due to its potent blockage of the widely expressed KCNQ channels to simultaneously and efficiently d...

Blooms of the dinoflagellate Dinophysis acuminata occur every year in an important mussel cultivation area in Port Underwood, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Annual maximum cell numbers range from 1500–75,000 cells L⁻¹ and over 25 years...

Research on mycotoxins now requires a systematic study of post-exposure organisms. In this study, the effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on biofluids biomarkers were examined with metabolomics and biochemical tests. The results showed that milk concentra...

Cancer is a deadly disease and there is an urgent need for the development of effective and safe therapeutic agents to treat it. Snake venom is a complex mixture of bioactive proteins that represents an attractive source of novel and naturally-derive...

Swine production workers are exposed simultaneously to multiple contaminants. Occupational exposure to aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in Portuguese swine production farms has already been reported. However, besides AFB₁, data regarding fungal contamination show...

Gambierdiscus species are the producers of the marine toxins ciguatoxins and maitotoxins which cause worldwide human intoxications recognized as Ciguatera Fish Poisoning. A deep chemical investigation of a cultured strain of G. belizeanus, collected...

Aflatoxins are highly toxic and cause disease in livestock and humans. In order to assess Taiwan population exposure to aflatoxin from peanuts and peanut products, a total of 1089 samples of peanut candy, peanut butter, and peanuts etc. were collecte...