Ultrastructural lesions induced by T-2 toxin in mice.

Mice were given T-2 toxin daily by stomach tube for a period of 10 days. Three mice were killed on days 1, 2, 7, 9, and 12, and selected tissues were processed for electron microscopy and analyzed for cellular abnormalities. No changes in cellular ultrastructure were observed in either kidney or pancreas. Necrosis of a few cells (estimated as 0.1%) and an occasional slight reduction of brush border microvilli were observed in the intestinal mucosal epithelium at 1 and 2 days post treatment but not at 7, 9, and 12 days post treatment. The most significant changes were observed in the liver and included aberrant forms of endoplasmic reticulum. The liver changes were, however, transitory in that they maximized at 1 and 2 days post treatment and then subsided so that by 7 days post treatment the tissues appeared almost normal. The liver changes induced by T-2 were similar to those induced by aflatoxin as observed in a previous study.