2022-03-162022-03-162022Díez-Quijada Jiménez, L., Casas Rodríguez, A., Guzmán Guillén, R., Molina Hernández, V., González Albaladejo, R., Cameán Fernández, A.M. y Jos Gallego, Á.M. (2022). Immunomodulatory Effects of Pure Cylindrospermopsin in Rats Orally Exposed for 28 Days. Toxins, 14 (2), 144.2072-6651https://hdl.handle.net/11441/130889Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a ubiquitous cyanotoxin showing increasing incidence worldwide. CYN has been classified as a cytotoxin and, among its toxic effects, its immunotoxicity is scarcely studied. This work investigates for the first time the influence of oral CYN exposure (18.75; 37.5 and 75 µg/kg b.w./day, for 28 days) on the mRNA expression of selected interleukin (IL) genes (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α), Interferon gamma (IFN-γ)) in the thymus and the spleen of male and female rats, by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Moreover, their serum levels were also measured by a multiplex-bead-based immunoassay, and a histopathological study was performed. CYN produced immunomodulation mainly in the thymus of rats exposed to 75 µg CYN/kg b.w./day in both sexes. However, in the spleen only IL-1β and IL-2 (males), and TNF-α and IFN-γ (females) expression was modified after CYN exposure. Only female rats exposed to 18.75 µg CYN/kg b.w./day showed a significant decrease in TNF-α serum levels. There were no significant differences in the weight or histopathology in the organs studied. Further research is needed to obtain a deeper view of the molecular mechanisms involved in CYN immunotoxicity and its consequences on long-term exposures.application/pdf18 p.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/CylindrospermopsinImmunotoxicityMRNA expressionRatsSpleenThymusinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14020144