Gut microbiota dysbiosis transmits deoxynivalenol toxicity and triggers liver inflammation

Introduction: Deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, is known to compromise gut barrier integrity and induce systemic inflammation. Objectives: This study demonstrates that intestinal microbiota play a central role in DON-induced liver inflammation. Methods: Through oral exposure and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments in mice, we observed that DON disrupts intestinal structure, alters microbial composition, and activates liver inflammation via the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Results: Notably, liver inflammation was replicated in pseudo-germ-free mice colonized with microbiota from DON-exposed donors, even in the absence of direct DON exposure. Microbial analysis identified Alloprevotella , a mucin-degrading genus associated with increased intestinal permeability, and Pseudomonas , a pathogenic genus enriched in the liver, as key candidate microbial drivers of this effect. Conclusion: These findings underscore that dysbiosis, especially involving specific bacterial genera, can independently trigger liver inflammation, highlighting a microbiota-mediated pathogenic mechanism in mycotoxin toxicity.