Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common fungal toxins which contaminate food grains and cereal-derived products. However, whether DON induces inflammasome-mediated inflammation is still unknown. In the current study, we examined whether DON sti...
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common fungal toxins which contaminate food grains and cereal-derived products. However, whether DON induces inflammasome-mediated inflammation is still unknown. In the current study, we examined whether DON stimulates IL-1β secretion in BV2 microglia cells by activating NLRP3/ACS-mediated inflammasome. Treatment with high doses of DON (over 800 nM) decreased cell proliferation; however, no significant apoptotic sub-G1 was observed, which indicates that DON induces BV2 cells at a stagnant stage. We also found that DON significantly upregulated IL-1β expression in a dose-dependent manner from 0.5 h to 6 h as much as comparing to treatment with LPS and ATP, which was regulated by nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. In addition, IL-1β was remarkably secreted in the presence of DON at 24 h and a caspase-I inhibitor significantly prohibited DON-mediated IL-1β secretion, which suggest that caspase-1, which is an effector molecule of inflammasome, is an important upregulator of IL-1β. Thus, components of inflammasome such as ASC and NLRP3 substantially increased by DON treatment and transition knockdown of ASC and NLRP3 significantly downregulated DON-mediated IL-1β expression and secretion, which means that DON stimulates NLRP3/ASC-mediated inflammasome, which consequently promotes IL-1β expression and secretion in BV2 microglia cells. Taken together, these data suggest that DON induces IL-1β expression in BV2 microglial cells by activating the NF-κB signaling pathway and subsequently upregulated NLRP3/ASC-mediated inflammasome-mediated IL-1β secretion. Therefore, DON could induce inflammatory diseases or disorders by activating inflammasome-mediated IL- 1β.