New data on toxin cancer risk
Given the risks to consumers, research into the ways OTA can induce pathologies is very important towards establishing acceptable levels of the toxin in the food chain. An EU project, part of the LIFE QUALITY programme, set out to investigate the particular modes of action of OTA that leads to cancer. OTA has been specifically linked to kidney disease and renal tumours; therefore examining the mechanisms of tumorigenesis was a key point of focus throughout the project. Researchers at the University of Würzburg carried out series of in vitro and in vivo tests in rats in order to examine the effect of OTA. Studies showed that OTA did not form bonds with liver and kidney DNA and did not result in adduct formation in DNA molecules. Repeated OTA administration did result in kidney toxicity and in high concentrations in the kidney as well as the liver of animals. However, the observations that were made could not characterise OTA's mode of action to be genotoxic-mediated - given that there was no DNA binding. Researchers suggested that tumour formation is initiated through alterations in cell-cell adhesion and communication, induced by OTA. Furthermore, OTA administration in the rat was shown to inhibit a series of enzymatic processes involved in the protection against oxidative stress. Lowering kidney cells' defence mechanisms, could therefore lead to tumour formation. The project has yielded a bulk of valuable information regarding OTA mechanism of action, which could signify the first step towards a comprehensive set of measures to protect the food chain in the long-term. As such, these results are of particular relevance to government bodies and also private sector firms involved in food processing and marketing.
