Differential gene expression analysis of bovine macrophage cells following exposure to Penicillium mycotoxins

Mycotoxins produced by fungal species commonly contaminate livestock feedstuffs. Citrinin (CIT) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are mycotoxins produced by Penicillium spp. and commonly co-occur. Both CIT and OTA can modulate the immune response by inhibiting cell proliferation and differentiation, changing in cell metabolism, or triggering programmed cell death. In this study, we used microarrays to determine the effects of CIT, OTA or both on the bovine macrophage (BoMac) transcriptome. BoMacs (1.0 x 106 per treatments) were in vitroly exposed to sublethal concentrations (IC25 to provide the similar stress level to the cells without causing overt cytoxicity) of CIT, OTA or both combined for 6 and 24 hours. tRNA was extracted and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays. The trials were repeated three times independently to ensure the reproducibility of the study.