Acute effects of T-2 toxin on radioactive iron incorporation into circulating erythrocytes in mice.

The 24-h and 72-h incorporation of 59Fe into circulating erythrocytes in mice were strongly inhibited by a single subcutaneous dose of T-2 toxin given 1 h before the radioisotope. The system is extremely sensitive, since a significant effect was detected with T-2 toxin doses as low as 0.30 mg/kg, which is about one-tenth of the LD50 in the BALB/c strain used for the present study. In the treated animals no initial changes were observed in the blood 59Fe levels or in the rate of radioisotope clearance from plasma, indicating that the toxin does not interfere with iron absorption or transport. It is concluded that the inhibition observed reflects the damage produced by this toxin on reticulocytes and/or erythroblasts, and therefore this method could be of value as a very sensitive means of studying the risk of erythropoietic injury produced by dietary exposure to trichothecene mycotoxins.