The effect of a single gavage dose of fumonisin B1 on the sphinganine and sphingosine levels in vervet monkeys

This is the first report of sphinganine (Sa) and sphingosine (So) levels determined in serum and urine of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) dosed with pure fumonisin B-1 (FB1). Initially, experimental vervet monkeys were given a single gavage dose of either 1 or 10 mg FB1/kg body weight. Blood and urine were sampled daily and on day seven the monkeys were terminated and the kidneys and livers harvested. In a subsequent experiment, other vervet monkeys were similarly dosed and blood and urine samples were collected over a 50-day period. In the high-dose monkeys the serum Sa/So ratio, as well as levels of serum cholesterol and liver function enzymes, increased during the first week after dosing and remained elevated for several weeks thereafter. The urinary Sa/So ratio and the serum renal function indicators showed a more rapid response and a correspondingly more rapid return to predosing levels. In the low-dose monkeys serum Sa and the Sa/So ratio were the only parameters to increase above the control levels. The Se/So ratio in liver and kidney tissue showed an elevation over controls in a dose-dependent manner. The serum Sa/So ratio was exclusively elevated above the control levels in the low- and high-dose monkeys and seems more relevant as a marker for fumonisin exposure than any of the other indicators. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.