Effect of Aflatoxin B1 on the Function of Peritoneal Macrophage from Mule Duck

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) alone or mixed function oxidase (MFO)- activated AFB 1 on various functions of mule duck peritoneal macrophages. Duck peritoneal macrophages were incubated with AFB 1 0, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 g/ml for 12 h. The cell viability significantly declined as the concentration of AFB 1 increased and more obviously detrimental effects was noticed in MFO-metabolized AFB 1 treatments. Either in opsonized or unopsonized Candida albicans, phagocytotic ability of macrophages was decreased with the elevation of the concentration of AFB 1 . Significantly higher levels of macrophages were damaged in MFO-metabolized AFB 1 than AFB 1 alone in concentrations above 20 g/ml. The cytotoxicity activity was in the range of 41 to 33% after exposure to AFB 1 5 to 100 g/ml, and a significant higher TNF-like substance secretion by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation was obtained. When LPS was present in the medium, the percentage of cytotoxicity was higher than all treatments of AFB 1 both with and without MFO-activation in the absence of LPS. The results suggest that MFO-metabolized AFB 1 can alter cell viability and morphology of duck macrophages more than AFB 1 administered alone. Both with and without MFOactivation, AFB 1 has detrimental effects on phagocytotic ability and TNF-like substance secretion, increasing with level of AFB 1 .