Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1542964
This article is part of the Research Topic Molecular Innate Immunity in Aquatic Animals and Their Response to Epidemic Diseases View all 6 articles

Ochratoxin A induces immunotoxicity by targeting Annexin A1 mediated neutrophil apoptosis in zebrafish

Provisionally accepted
Yihong Zheng Yihong Zheng Yinuo Liu Yinuo Liu Jin Tian Jin Tian Shuhong Liu Shuhong Liu Gaowei Ma Gaowei Ma Yupeng Xie Yupeng Xie Chenhua Zheng Chenhua Zheng *Zekai Wu Zekai Wu *
  • Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium species, posing a significant threat to global food safety. Previous studies have demonstrated the diverse toxic effects of OTA, including hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and carcinogenicity. However, limited understanding exists regarding its immunotoxicity and the underlying mechanisms, particularly in relation to innate immunity. Our results demonstrated that exposure to OTA inhibited embryonic development and induced malformations in a concentration-dependent manner.Additionally, OTA exposure led to a significant reduction in the number of neutrophils and macrophages, indicating compromised formation of innate immune cells. Furthermore, OTA exposure hampered the immune response during zebrafish fin regeneration, as evidenced by the diminished migration of neutrophils and macrophages to the wound area. Transcriptome sequencing analysis identified significant up-regulation of the anxa1a and anxa1d-mediated apoptosis signaling pathway in neutrophils following OTA treatment. Notably, administration of aesculetin, known for its anti-apoptosis activity, effectively attenuated the immunotoxic effects induced by OTA. These findings provide valuable insights into the immunotoxicity of OTA while highlight the potential therapeutic strategy using aesculetin for mitigating immune dysfunction caused by OTA.

    Keywords: OTA-induced innate immune dysfunction Ochratoxin A (OTA), Immunotoxicity, Apoptosis, Annexin A1, aesculetin

    Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 09 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Liu, Tian, Liu, Ma, Xie, Zheng and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chenhua Zheng, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
    Zekai Wu, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.