Table 2.

Effects of mycotoxins on Leydig cells.

Mycotoxin	Species	Dose	Exposure	Main Findings with Respect to Leydig Cells	Ref.
AFB1	Mouse	50 μg/kg BW *	45 days	Upregulation of genes involved in cell differentiation, extracellular space, and immunity	[126]
	Rat	0–10 μM	35 days	Extra-hepatic toxicity by inhibition of proteins involved in androgen biosynthesis such as StAR, HSDB3, and HSD17B3	[125]
CTN		50 and 100 μM	36 h	Reduced testosterone secretion Induced apoptosis	[127]
T-2	Mouse	1–102 μM	24 h	Dose-dependent decrease in testosterone levels	[128]
ZEA		0–20 μg/mL (0–62.3 μM)	1–24 h	Dose- and time-dependent inhibition of testosterone stimulated by both hCG and cAMP	[130]
		0.01–100 μM	24 h	Suppressed hCG-induced testosterone secretion	[129]
		5 μM	24 h	Modified mitochondrial lipid metabolism Increased energy production Inhibited steroidogenesis and esterification	[132]
		0–200 μg/mL (0–623 μM)	24 h	ER stress pathway activated in ZEA-induced apoptosis	[133]
	Rat	2.5–20 μg/mL (7.8–62.3 μM)	12 h	Investigation of anti-ZEA compounds	[134]

* In vivo study; AFB1—aflatoxin B1; CTN—citrinin; T-2—trichothecene-2; ZEA—zearalenone. In parentheses, measures converted to μM.