The food additive titanium dioxide hinders intestinal production of TGF-ß and IL-10 in mice, and long-term exposure in adults or from perinatal life blocks oral tolerance to ovalbumin.
Food Chem Toxicol
; 179: 113974, 2023 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37516336
ABSTRACT
Food hypersensitivities are increasing in industrialized countries, and foodborne nanoparticles (NPs) are suspected as co-factors in their aetiology. Food-grade titanium dioxide (fg-TiO2), a food colouring agent, is composed of NPs with immunomodulatory properties. We investigated whether fg-TiO2 may compromise the establishment of oral tolerance (OT) to food proteins using a model of OT induction to ovalbumin (OVA) in mice, and whether a perinatal exposure could trigger this effect. In pregnant mice fed a TiO2-enriched diet, ICP-MS and TEM-EDX analyses showed passage of TiO2 NPs into the foetus. When their weaned offspring were fed the same diet, a breakdown in OT to OVA was observed at adulthood, characterized by a high anti-OVA IgG production compared to controls. However, adult mice directly exposed to fg-TiO2 did not induce OT to OVA either, ruling out a developmental origin for these effects. When these mice were orally challenged with OVA, intestinal inflammation demonstrated hypersensitivity to OVA. In OVA-naïve mice, fg-TiO2 exposure impaired intestinal TGF-ß and IL-10 production, of key role in OT induction and maintenance. These findings showed that long-term exposure to TiO2 as food additive alters anti-inflammatory cytokine profile, and leads to OT failure regardless of the timing of TiO2 exposure throughout life.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Transforming Growth Factor beta
/
Interleukin-10
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Pregnancy
Language:
En
Journal:
Food Chem Toxicol
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article