An altered gene expression profile in tyramine-exposed intestinal cell cultures supports the genotoxicity of this biogenic amine at dietary concentrations.

Tyramine, histamine and putrescine are the most commonly detected and most abundant biogenic amines (BA) in food. The consumption of food with high concentrations of these BA is discouraged by the main food safety agencies, but legal limits have only been set for histamine. The present work reports a transcriptomic investigation of the oncogenic potential of the above-mentioned BA, as assessed in the HT29 human intestinal epithelial cell line. Tyramine had a greater effect on the expression of genes involved in tumorigenesis than did histamine or putrescine. Since some of the genes that showed altered expression in tyramine-exposed cells are involved in DNA damage and repair, the effect of this BA on the expression of other genes involved in the DNA damage response was investigated. The results suggest that tyramine might be genotoxic for intestinal cells at concentrations easily found in BA-rich food. Moreover, a role in promoting intestinal cancer cannot be excluded.