EN
Most plant food products and feed ingredients can be contaminated with small doses of fusarial mycotoxins, which cause subclinical changes in humans and animals. The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the effect of low doses of zearalenone (40 µg/kg BW) and deoxynivalenol (12 µg/kg BW) administered daily per os to gilts on T-lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4⁺CD8⁻,CD4⁺CD8⁺,CD4⁻CD8⁺) in mesenteric blood during six-week exposure. The experiment was conducted on 36 gilts with an average body weight of 25 ± 2 kg, divided into two groups: experimental (E – which received ZEN + DON) and control (C – which received a placebo). Changes in percentages of particular T-lymphocyte subsets were assessed by flow cytometry. Blood samples were taken at regular weekly intervals from 6 gilts during laparotomy, immediately before the heart’s action ceased. The analyses demonstrated that the E group had a transient decrease in the percentage of T-lymphocytes CD4⁺CD8⁺, as well as some disturbance in the linear correlation of growth within the same population of lymphocytes. Mixed low-dose mycotoxin can also be a cause of temporary immunity decline, as well as a factor responsible for disturbances during the maturation of the immune system.