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- Unnecessary disputes: scientists have found a remedy for a fungal disease that consumes joints
Unnecessary disputes: scientists have found a remedy for a fungal disease that consumes joints
An international team of scientists has analyzed laboratory data on the interaction of selenium with one of the most dangerous fungal toxins on the planet, T—2, which can be found in grain products and feed. It causes Kashin-Bek disease in children from endemic regions, in which the skin becomes wrinkled, joints, teeth, and jaws deform, heart pain appears, and mental abilities decrease. Scientists have shown that micronutrient supplements can be an effective approach to treating not only this rare disease, but also other diseases caused by exposure to mycotoxin. However, we need to continue testing.
What are the dangers of Fusarium mushrooms and where are they distributed?
Researchers at Sechenov University, together with colleagues from China, Brazil and the United States, conducted a critical analysis of laboratory data on the interaction of selenium with one of the most dangerous fungal metabolites, the T—2 toxin, which can be found in grain products. They found out by what mechanisms selenium deficiency increases the destructive effect of the toxin on the body as a whole, and cartilage tissue in particular, which may be directly related to the development of Kashin-Beck disease, a severe arthropathy characteristic of regions with selenium—deficient soil and infected grain.
T-2 toxin is one of the most dangerous mycotoxins on the planet, released by pathogenic Fusarium fungi that infect crops. These mushrooms actively develop at high humidity and temperature, especially during harvest storage. The toxin can enter the human body through food, such as bread and cereals, as well as through skin contact with contaminated foods. It causes inflammation, disrupts cell function, increases oxidative stress, destroys cartilage tissue, and affects internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, and nervous system.
The scientists analyzed more than 200 studies conducted over the past decades and the results of laboratory experiments on chondrocytes, as well as on mice and rats injected with T-2 toxin against a background of reduced selenium intake. We studied how the trace element affects gene expression, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, collagen synthesis, and the mechanisms of cell death.
The results showed that selenium deficiency enhances the destructive effects of T-2 by exacerbating oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the development of ferroptosis, a form of cell death associated with excessive accumulation of iron inside cells. Conversely, sufficient intake of selenium led to the activation of the production of selenoproteins with antioxidant effects, as well as reduced the level of inflammatory cytokines, inhibited the death of chondrocytes and the destruction of the intercellular matrix. It is also noted that in a number of experiments, selenium also suppressed the synthesis of T-2 itself in Fusarium fungi.
—The available literature data suggest that normalization of the body's selenium supply may be one of the most effective approaches to the treatment of not only Kashin-Beck disease, but also other diseases caused by the effects of mycotoxin T-2 and its metabolites," said Alexey Tinkov, MD, Chief Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Dietetics.
As scientists explained to Izvestia, if grain storage conditions are violated or in humid and cool growing conditions, Fusarium fungi producing T-2 toxin can be found everywhere.
How selenium will help to defeat Kashin-Beck's disease
— Normalization of the body's selenium supply can prevent the development of diseases caused by exposure to T-2 toxin. Selenium enrichment in the diet of people living in selenium-deficient regions, as well as in regions with combined selenium deficiency and high levels of T-2 toxin, can be considered as an effective preventive measure," explained Alexey Tinkov.
At the same time, the use of selenium preparations should be carried out under the control of the level of this trace element in the body, since its excess, as well as lack, can have negative consequences, the scientist warned.
Kashin-Bek disease is noted in Transbaikalia, Chita and Irkutsk regions, Buryatia, Northwestern regions, including Murmansk, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk regions, as well as in Novgorod, Vologda, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Tver and Moscow regions, in the Far East, Associate professor of the Department of Medical Elementology RUDN Andrei Skalny told Izvestia.
The work of scientists reveals a key combination of risk factors (T-2 toxin plus selenium deficiency) for Kashin-Beck disease. Therefore, this study is a direct path to prevention in endemic regions, Vladimir Andrianov, Director of Partner Relations at the R—Pharm Medical Directorate, told Izvestia.
—Understanding the protective mechanisms of selenium opens up new horizons not only for prevention, but also for the development of more complex nutraceutical or pharmacological solutions aimed at strengthening these pathways or protecting other target organs of the T-2 toxin," the specialist noted.
The data obtained are extremely important and confirm the relationship between selenium deficiency and the predisposition to develop this disease in endemic territories, which are characterized by selenium deficiency in soil and water, which affects the composition of food in these areas, emphasized Andrey Skalny.
However, as the researchers themselves emphasize, despite convincing laboratory data, clinical studies of the use of selenium in arthropathies and mycotoxicosis are still at an early stage. Nevertheless, it is already possible to talk about the high prospects of the trace element as one of the components of personalized therapy.
Kashin-Beck disease is a pathology that develops due to a lack of nutrients, which leads to degeneration and dystrophy of the musculoskeletal system. The joints and spine are most often affected. The disease is common in cities where soil and water contain insufficient amounts of trace elements, minerals and vitamins. As a result, children develop an imbalance that affects their height and body proportions. With the disease, the skin becomes wrinkled, joints, teeth, and jaws become deformed, heart pain appears, and mental abilities decrease.
The work was supported by a grant from the Russian National Science Foundation, and the results were published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
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