Abstract
This study was to investigate the immunotoxicological potential of corn genetically modified (GM) with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ah gene in BALB/c mice. Female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to one of the four groups: the negative control group, the parental corn group, the GM corn group and the positive control group with 10 mice per group. Mice in the GM corn group and the parental corn group were fed with diets containing 70% corresponding corn for 30 days. Mice in the negative control group and the positive control group were fed with AIN93G diet, administered with saline or 200 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide (CY) via intraperitoneal injection 24 h before the termination of the study, respectively. At the end of the study, the immunotoxicological effects of the GM corn were evaluated through immunopathology parameters including body and organ weights, hematology and clinical chemistry parameters, histological examination, peripheral blood lymphocytes phenotype; humoral immunity including antibody plaque-forming cell, serum immunoglobulin, cytokine and half hemolysis value; cellular immunity such as mitogen-induced splenocyte proliferation, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte reaction, delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction; non-specific immunity including phagocytic activities of phagocytes, natural killer cell activity. A single dose of cyclophosphamide (200 mg/kg bw) was found to have significant adverse effects on immunopathology, cellular immunity, and humoral immunity in mice. The corn genetically modified with Bt Cry1Ah gene is considered consistent with the parental corn in terms of immunopathology, humoral immunity, cellular immunity and non-specific immunity. No adverse immunotoxicological effects of GM corn with Bt Cry1Ah gene were found when feeding mice for 30 days.
Highlights
Modified plant has been one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in the history of agriculture [1]
No other significant differences were found when the comparisons were made among the genetically modified (GM) corn group, the parental corn group and the negative control group
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of the GM corn modified with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ah gene in BALB/c mice for 30 days
Summary
Modified plant has been one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in the history of agriculture [1]. Since the introduction of the first genetically modified plant in the 1983, genetic engineering techniques and their applications have developed rapidly. Modified crops are carryinging novel traits including insect resistance, disease resistance, quality improvement, herbicide resistance [3,4,5]. The safety of genetically modified foods is still the focus of the public attention. In addition to the common safety problems of general food, genetically modified crops and their products may have their unique ones. In the guidelines established by Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other international organizations and countries, the primary focus for safety assessment of GM crops is on evaluating general toxicity and allergenicity of the introduced protein(s), whereas general immunotoxicological investigations of whole GMOs are not described
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