T-2 toxin impairment of murine response to Salmonella typhimurium: a histopathologic assessment.

T-2 toxin and other trichothecene mycotoxins experimentally impair normal immune function and may predispose humans and animals to infectious disease. In this study, the histopathologic effects of Salmonella typhimurium challenge concurrently with sublethal T-2 toxin exposure were examined in the Salmonella-resistant C3H/HeN mouse. Oral administration of T-2 toxin (1 mg/kg) every other day for 10 d had little effect on the tissues examined when compared to control animals. Mice challenged with S. typhimurium and then treated with T-2 toxin every other day for 10 d had markedly larger and more bacterial-related lesions in the spleens, kidneys, and livers than animals challenged with S. typhimurium alone. Differences in bone marrow, Peyer's patches and ileal tissues were less discernable between S. typhimurium and S. typhimurium plus T-2 toxin treated groups. These results were consistent with previous findings that T-2 toxin compromised murine resistance to S. typhimurium infection and ultimately caused death in animals challenged with a sublethal dose of the organism.