Fungal Toxins and the Brain

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Mycotoxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 15988

Special Issue Editor

1. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
2. Oregon Institute for Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
Interests: neurotoxinology; neurotoxicology; systems biology; human disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Toxins is focused on fungal toxins with neurotoxic potential, including the secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi and toxic chemicals produced by mushrooms. There is growing interest but little data to support proposals that fungal toxins are involved in the genesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinsonism and Alzheimer’s disease. While 3-nitropropionic acid, a secondary metabolite of Arthrinium fungus that shuts down energy transformation, is used to model Huntington disease based on its ability to induce putaminal necrosis and dystonia; this is a subacute neurotoxic disorder quite distinct from neurodegenerative diseases that may result from exposures that take place decades before the appearance of clinical disease. The molecular mechanisms underlying these disorders are unknown, although there is increasing interest in substances that induce DNA damage. Papers addressing molecular mechanisms of developmental and adult neurological and neuroendocrine disorders associated with fungal toxins are welcome, as are papers describing the chemical composition thereof. While the focus is on the relationship between exposure to fungal toxins and the genesis of human, veterinary and experimental neural disorders, including genotoxic, tremorgenic, and other mycotoxins (e.g., ergot, T2 toxin, macrocyclic trichothecenes, fumonisins, ochratoxin, beauvericin, aflatoxin), manuscripts addressing the prevention and treatment of neuromycotoxic disorders will also be considered.

Prof. Peter S. Spencer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • mycotoxin
  • fungal toxin
  • mushroom toxin
  • brain
  • nervous system
  • neurodegeneration

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 326 KiB  
Communication
Case-Control Study of Nodding Syndrome in Acholiland: Urinary Multi-Mycotoxin Screening
by Jennifer Duringer, Rajarshi Mazumder, Valerie Palmer, A. Morrie Craig and Peter Spencer
Toxins 2021, 13(5), 313; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13050313 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2139
Abstract
This case-control study adds to the growing body of knowledge on the medical, nutritional, and environmental factors associated with Nodding Syndrome (NS), a seizure disorder of children and adolescents in northern Uganda. Past research described a significant association between NS and prior history [...] Read more.
This case-control study adds to the growing body of knowledge on the medical, nutritional, and environmental factors associated with Nodding Syndrome (NS), a seizure disorder of children and adolescents in northern Uganda. Past research described a significant association between NS and prior history of measles infection, dependence on emergency food and, at head nodding onset, subsistence on moldy maize, which has the potential to harbor mycotoxins. We used LC-MS/MS to screen for current mycotoxin loads by evaluating nine analytes in urine samples from age-and-gender matched NS cases (n = 50) and Community Controls (CC, n = 50). The presence of the three mycotoxins identified in the screening was not significantly different between the two groups, so samples were combined to generate an overall view of exposure in this community during the study. Compared against subsequently run standards, α-zearalenol (43 ± 103 µg/L in 15 samples > limit of quantitation (LOQ); 0 (0/359) µg/L), T-2 toxin (39 ± 81 µg/L in 72 samples > LOQ; 0 (0/425) µg/L) and aflatoxin M1 (4 ± 10 µg/L in 15 samples > LOQ; 0 (0/45) µg/L) were detected and calculated as the average concentration ± SD; median (min/max). Ninety-five percent of the samples had at least one urinary mycotoxin; 87% were positive for two of the three compounds detected. While mycotoxin loads at NS onset years ago are and will remain unknown, this study showed that children with and without NS currently harbor foodborne mycotoxins, including those associated with maize. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Toxins and the Brain)

Review

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14 pages, 1883 KiB  
Review
Warning on False or True Morels and Button Mushrooms with Potential Toxicity Linked to Hydrazinic Toxins: An Update
by Emmeline Lagrange and Jean-Paul Vernoux
Toxins 2020, 12(8), 482; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins12080482 - 29 Jul 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 11871 | Correction
Abstract
Recently, consumption of the gyromitrin-containing neurotoxic mushroom Gyromitra sp. (false morel), as gourmet food was hypothesized to play a role in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis genesis. The present review analyses recent data on edibility and toxicity of false and true morels and Agaricus [...] Read more.
Recently, consumption of the gyromitrin-containing neurotoxic mushroom Gyromitra sp. (false morel), as gourmet food was hypothesized to play a role in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis genesis. The present review analyses recent data on edibility and toxicity of false and true morels and Agaricus spp. Controversy about the toxic status of Gyromitra esculenta was due to variable toxin susceptibility within consumers. We suggest that Verpa bohemica, another false morel, is also inedible. We found a temporary neurological syndrome (NS) with cerebellar signs associated with high consumption of fresh or dried true morels Morchella sp. After ingestion of crude or poorly cooked fresh or dried morels, a gastrointestinal “haemolytic” syndrome was also observed. Agaritine, a water soluble hydrazinic toxin closely related to gyromitrin is present along with metabolites including diazonium ions and free radicals, in Agaricus spp. and A. bisporus, the button mushroom, and in mice after ingestion. It is a potential weak carcinogen in mice, but although no data are available for humans, a lifetime low cumulative extra cancer risk in humans can be estimated to be about 10−5. To conclude, a safety measure is to avoid consuming any true morels or button mushrooms when crude or poorly cooked, fresh or dried. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Toxins and the Brain)
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1 pages, 215 KiB  
Correction
Correction: Lagrange, E.; Vernoux, J.-P. Warning on False or True Morels and Button Mushrooms with Potential Toxicity Linked to Hydrazinic Toxins: An Update. Toxins 2020, 12, 482
by Emmeline Lagrange and Jean-Paul Vernoux
Toxins 2022, 14(5), 345; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins14050345 - 16 May 2022
Viewed by 1174
Abstract
The authors wish to make corrections to their paper [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Toxins and the Brain)
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