Resveratrol attenuates T-2 toxin-induced pro-inflammatory microglial activation via the BTG2-regulated TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway.

Abstract

T-2 toxin is a widely distributed environmental mycotoxin that poses severe neurotoxic risks to humans and animals. Neuroinflammatory responses constitute a key mechanism underlying the neurotoxicity of T-2 toxin. However, its molecular mechanisms for inducing inflammatory responses in the nervous system remain incompletely understood. This study investigated the role of B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) in T-2 toxin-induced microglial activation and evaluated the neuroprotective potential of resveratrol (Res). In vivo experiments demonstrated that exposure to T-2 toxin resulted in spatial learning, memory impairments and locomotor deficits in mice. These behavioral phenotypes were accompanied by neuroinflammation in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, characterized by microglial activation and the upregulation of BTG2. Res pre-treatment effectively reversed these neurobehavioral deficits and suppressed the neuroinflammatory response. Mechanistic analyses revealed that Res considerably alleviated T-2 toxin-induced TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway activation. In vitro studies using BV-2 microglial cells confirmed these findings. Notably, siRNA-mediated knockdown of BTG2 also abolished TLR4 pathway activation and subsequent cytokine expression induced by T-2 toxin, establishing BTG2 as a critical upstream regulator. Furthermore, RNA sequencing systematically verified that BTG2 regulates the immune response network, specifically targeting the TLR4 cascades. Collectively, these findings provide novel evidence that Res may target the BTG2-regulated TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signal pathway to exert neuroprotection, providing a promising intervention option for reducing the environmental and health hazards associated with exposure to T-2 toxin.