Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41375095›Full record

ArticleMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Selective Cytotoxicity of Ochratoxin A: Pro-Apoptotic Effects on Healthy Immune Cells Compared to Leukemia Cells.

Magdalena Więckowska, Edyta Janik-Karpinska, Natalia Cichon, Ewelina Synowiec, Rafał Szelenberger, Maksymilian Stela, Marcin Podogrocki, Leslaw Gorniak, Tomasz Poplawski, Tomasz Sliwinski and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Magdalena WięckowskaBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.
Edyta Janik-KarpinskaBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.
Natalia CichonBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-0139-2451
Ewelina SynowiecDepartment of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-0730-4491
Rafał SzelenbergerBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-6646-2203
Maksymilian StelaBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.
Marcin PodogrockiBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-7566-4205
Leslaw GorniakBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-9873-9521
Tomasz PoplawskiDepartment of Microbiology and Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Lodz, Mazowiecka 5, 92-215 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0003-2300-7339
Tomasz SliwinskiDepartment of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-8385-7744
Lukasz KrzowskiBiomedical Engineering Centre, Institute of Optoelectronics, Military University of Technology, Kaliskiego 2, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland.
Michal BijakBiohazard Prevention Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-7838-4097

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widespread mycotoxin with documented nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic effects, while its role in hematological malignancies and immune cells remains insufficiently defined. This study examined the cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic OTA activity in three human leukemia cell lines (CCRF-CEM, K-562, HL-60) and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors. Cell viability was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and trypan blue assays, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM) was assessed with JC-1 dye, caspase-3/7 activity was measured by flow cytometry, and the expression of apoptosis-related genes was analyzed by RT-qPCR. OTA did not significantly affect viability, mitochondrial function, or caspase activity in leukemia cell lines, suggesting relative resistance to OTA-induced apoptosis. In contrast, PBMCs exhibited clear dose- and time-dependent sensitivity, manifested by reduced viability, ΔΨM, caspase-3/7 activation, and transcriptional changes consistent with intrinsic apoptosis, including decreased BCL-2 (anti-apoptotic) and increased BAX (pro-apoptotic), APAF1 (apoptosome component), CASP3, and CASP9 (executioner and initiator caspases) expression. These findings demonstrate that OTA selectively targets healthy immune cells rather than leukemia cells, highlighting its pronounced immunotoxic risk and the importance of caution when considering its effect in a hematological context. Although limited to in vitro models, this study underscores the necessity of further research to clarify the molecular basis of differential OTA sensitivity and its contribution to immunosuppression and hematological disease.

Indexed as

ApoptosisLeukemiaLeukocytes, MononuclearOchratoxinsCaspase 3Cell Line, TumorCell SurvivalHL-60 CellsHumansMembrane Potential, MitochondrialCaspase 3ochratoxin AOchratoxinshematological disordershematopoietic toxicityimmune cellsleukemiamycotoxinochratoxin A

Identifiers

PMID41375095
PMCPMC12693344

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.