Proliferative and cytotoxic effects of Fusarium T2 toxin on cultured human fetal esophagus

In an area with high incidence of esophageal cancer, Linxian, staple food is heavily contaminated by fungi of the Fusarium genus. We have found that T-2 toxin produced by Fusarium has both direct cytotoxic and proliferative effects on fetal esophageal epithelium. At higher dosage of T-2 toxin (4 ng/ml for 6 days) the cultured epithelium became necrotic. At a lower dosage range of 0.2-1.2 ng/ml, T-2 toxin caused mitogenic effects including focal basal cell hyperplasia, dysplasia, and increased number of mitoses. Atypical mitoses were also seen. These changes are very similar to the premalignant lesions seen in epithelium adjacent to human esophageal carcinoma. These observations suggest that Fusarium mycotoxin can have a role in human esophageal carcinogenesis and should be further investigated.