Kashin-Beck disease is an endemic
joint disease characterized by deep chondrocyte
necrosis, and
T-2 toxin exposure has been confirmed its etiology. This study investigated mechanism of
T-2 toxin inducing
mitochondrial dysfunction of chondrocytes through p53-cyclophilin D (CypD) pathway. The p53 signaling pathway was significantly enriched in
T-2 toxin response genes from GeneCards. We demonstrated the upregulation of the p53
protein and p53-CypD complex in rat articular cartilage and ATDC5 cells induced by
T-2 toxin. Transmission electron microscopy showed the damaged mitochondrial structure of ATDC5 cells induced by
T-2 toxin. Furthermore, it can lead to overopening of the
mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased
reactive oxygen species generation in ATDC5 cells.
Pifithrin-α, the p53 inhibitor, alleviated the increased p53-CypD complex and
mitochondrial dysfunction of chondrocytes induced by
T-2 toxin, suggesting that p53 played an important role in
T-2 toxin-induced
mitochondrial dysfunction. Mechanistically,
T-2 toxin can activate the p53
protein, which can be transferred to the mitochondrial membrane and form a complex with CypD. The increased binding of p53 and CypD mediated the excessive opening of
mPTP, changed mitochondrial membrane permeability, and ultimately induced
mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis of chondrocytes.