High risk of embryo-fetal toxicity: placental transfer of T-2 toxin and its major metabolite HT-2 toxin in BeWo cells

Though T-2 toxin is the most harmful mycotoxin to the fetuses, it remains unclear whether T-2 toxin and its major metabolite, HT-2 toxin, could pass the placenta into the fetus and which kind of placental transport is involved in the passage. To illustrate their placenta transfer mechanism, the uptake and efflux of T-2 and HT-2 toxins across apical membranes of placenta with BeWo cells as a model were studied at different temperatures, pHs, and in the presence of transporter inhibitors with a developed liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to determine the amount of toxins in both fetal and maternal sites. Higher unidirectional transport of T-2 toxin was observed in the apical-to-basolateral direction than basolateral-to-apical one, whereas HT-2 toxin exhibited similar transport rate from the 2 directions. The main ATP-binding cassette transporters had no effect on the efflux of 2 toxins. Initial uptake of T-2 toxin was sodium dependent and saturable, and the apical uptake was temperature dependent and enhanced under acidic condition. The apical uptake of T-2 toxin was inhibited by metabolic inhibitors and the organic anion and organic cation transporter inhibitors. These results suggested that an active transport mechanism was responsible for the uptake of T-2 toxin, whereas passive diffusion was the principal mechanism for HT-2 toxin transport in the placenta. Taken together, these data characterized the placental transfer of T-2 and HT-2 toxins. The present study offered new ways of reducing the risks of T-2 and HT-2 toxins to both mother and fetuses.