Patulin, a mycotoxin, is known to have cytotoxic effects, but few studies have focused on the involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in patulin toxicity and the natural compounds that attenuate it in HepG2 cells. This study tested the ability of patulin to induce ER stress, and that of four thiols and three thioethers to attenuate patulin-induced ER stress in HepG2 cells. Patulin dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation (IC50, 8.43 μM). Additionally, patulin was found to increase the expression levels of ER stress-related genes and/or protein markers, including BiP, CHOP, and spliced XBP1, in HepG2 cells compared to the vehicle control, indicating its potential in ER stress induction. Patulin-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells was reduced by naturally occurring thiol compounds (glutathione, L-acetyl-L-cysteine, cysteine, and captopril), but not by thioether compounds (sulforaphane, sulforaphene, and S-allyl-L-cysteine). Patulin-thiol co-treatment decreased CHOP expression and BiP and CHOP levels in HepG2 cells but did not alter BiP expression. Spliced XBP1 expression was decreased by patulin-thiol co-treatment. Thus, patulin induced ER stress in HepG2 cells and thiols, but not in thioethers, attenuated patulin-induced ER stress.
Keywords: ER stress; HepG2 cells; mycotoxin; patulin; thiols.