Genotoxic interaction between deoxynivalenol and acrylamide

Food safety represents a major global concern. Humans and animals are exposed to a broad spectrum of food contaminants, which implies probable cocktail effects. Around 80 % of the population is exposed to deoxynivalenol (DON), one of the most widespread mycotoxins mainly found in cereal products. DON has previously been shown to exacerbate DNA damage induced by various compounds, questioning on potential toxic interactions with genotoxic food contaminants. Among them, acrylamide, classified as probably carcinogenic to humans, is formed during cooking processes and commonly found in fried foods and cereal products. Considering that co-consumption of DON- and/or acrylamide-contaminated foods is highly probable, we evaluated their genotoxic interaction in a non-cancerous intestinal cellular model. Our data show that DON exacerbates the cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of acrylamide, assessed through the analysis of the DNA damage biomarker γH2AX and by comet assay. This was corroborated by transcriptomic analyzes pointing out enhanced DNA repair pathway under co-exposure. Of note, DON-mediated increase of acrylamide-induced DNA damage is not related to the apoptotic program. As a consequence of this genotoxic interaction, cells co-exposed to DON and acrylamide exhibit more important cell cycle defects and chromosomal instability, as evaluated by the chromosomal aberration assay. In conclusion, our work shows that DON exacerbates the genotoxicity of acrylamide, with repercussions on the maintenance of genetic stability, potentially implying an increased carcinogenic risk. These results therefore provide crucial information regarding food safety, given the high probability of co-contamination by DON and genotoxic agents such as acrylamide.