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ISIS Report 19/11/08
GM Maize Disturbs Immune System of Young and Old Mice
New research add to the weight of damning evidence against the safety of
GM food Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
The Italian government’s National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition
has just published a report online in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry
documenting significant disturbances in the immune system of young and old mice
that have been fed the GM maize MON 810 [1]. This follows hot on the heels of
results released by the Austrian government showing that GM
Maize Reduces Fertility & Deregulates Genes in Mice (SiS 41)
[2]. These revelations confirm a string of previous findings on adverse health
impacts of GM food and feed, leave us in little doubt that GM is Dangerous and Futile
(SiS 40) [3]. Proponents should stop misleading the public that GM
food and feed is safe.
The GM maize and the parental non-GM variety from which it was
derived, were grown simultaneously in neighbouring fields in Landriano, Italy,
from seeds provided by Seeds Emporda (Girona, Spain). The control maize flour
from the non-GM parental strain had a low level of GMO contamination (0.29
percent by PCR test) but only the GM maize had the specific gene coding for
the toxin Cry1Ab that acts as a pesticide.
The GM and non-GM maize were also analysed for levels of the fungal aflatoxins
B1, B2, G1, G2, fumonisin B1 (FB1), deoxynivalenol (DON), ochratoxin, and zeralenon,
that frequently contaminate maize grains. The values were below the maximum
allowed in Europe, except for FB1 (1350 and 2450 mg/kg)
and DON (1300 and 650 mg/kg) in GM and non-GM maize
respectively.
The diets were formulated according to accepted standards and contained 50
percent MON810 or its parental control maize flour. A standard pellet diet containing
about 50 percent of commercial non GM maize was also used, which did not contain
CrylAb by PCR test.
Weaning mice, 21 days old, were fed with the diets for 30 and
90 days, and the old mice, 18 to 19 months, were fed for 90 days on the test
diets; and male Balb/c mice were used in all the experiments.
There were no differences in the mean body weight or in food
consumed between the GM-fed and control mice. These are the ‘agronomic’ characteristics
typically measured in feeding tests, and all too often, the only characteristics
measured.
The total number of white blood cells in the small intestine,
spleen and blood were not different. However, there were significant differences
in the percentages of T and B cells, and of CD4+, CD8+, gdT+,
and mbT+ subpopulations in both weaning and old mice that were GM-fed
for 30 and 90 days respectively compared with controls. These changes appeared
in the gut, spleen and blood, and were accompanied by increase in blood cytokines
IL-6, IL-13, IL-12p70, and MIP-1b,
all involved in allergic and inflammatory responses. These changes were not
detected in the mice fed the commercial non-GM pellet diet.
The greatest effects were the weaning mice fed for 30 days on
GM maize, whereas those fed for 90 days only had increased B cells. In the
old mice, the induced changes were similar to those found for the weaning
mice fed for 30 days. These results show that very young and old mice are
more susceptible to immunological insults. By the time the mice were 111 days
old (90+21), a degree of tolerance had been established, so that the disturbances
were reduced.
The immune disturbances are significant also in view of findings
from another laboratory [4]; proteomic analysis identified 43 proteins that
were up or down regulated in the MON 810 maize seeds compared with the parental
strain, among them a 50 kda g-zein,
a well-known allergenic protein [5], that was not present in the parental
strain.
It is clear that genetic modification is inherently hazardous,
as it invariably result in unpredictable and uncontrollable changes in the
genome and the epigenome (pattern of gene expression) that impact on safety.
References
- Finamore A, Roselli M, Britti S, Monastra G, Ambra R, Turrini A and Mengheri
E. Intestinal and peripheral immune response to MON810 maize ingestion in
weaning and old mice. J Agric food Chem, http://pubs.ac.org, 16 November 2008
- Ho MW. GM maize reduces fertility and deregulates genes in mice. Science
in Society 41 (to appear)
- Ho MW. GM is dangerous and futile. Science
in Society 40 (in press).
- Zolla L, Rinalducci S, Antonioli P, Righetti PG. Proteomics as a complementary
tool for identifying unintended side effects occurring in transgenic maize
seeds as a sresult of genetic modification. J. Proteome Res 2008,
7, 1850-61.
- Pasini G, Simonato B, Curioni A, Vincenzi S, Cristaudo Q, Santucci B,
Peruffo AD, Giannattasio M. IgE-mediated allergy to corn: a 50 kDa protein,
belonging to the reduced soluble proteins, is a major allergen. Allergy
2002, 37, 98-106.
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