Human intoxications in the Mediterranean Sea have been linked to blooms of the dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata, producer of palytoxin (PlTX)-like toxins called ovatoxins (OVTXs). Exposure routes include only inhalation and contact, although PlTX-poisoning by seafood has been described in tropical regions. To address the impact of OVTXs on the intestinal barrier, dinoflagellate extracts, purified OVTX-a and -d and PlTX were tested on differentiated Caco-2 cells. Viability, inflammatory response and barrier integrity were recorded after 24 h treatment. OVTX-a and -d were not cytotoxic up to 20 ng/mL but increased IL-8 release, although to a lesser extent compared to PlTX. While PlTX and OVTX-a (at 0.5 and 5 ng/mL respectively) affected intestinal barrier integrity, OVTX-d up to 5 ng/mL did not. Overall, OVTX-d was shown to be less toxic than OVTX-a and PlTX. Therefore, oral exposure to OVTX-a and -d could provoked lower acute toxicity than PlTX.

地中海的人类中毒与甲藻Ostreopsis的开花有关。卵形, 生产称为卵毒素 (OVTX) 的类似水草毒素 (PlTX) 的毒素。接触途径仅包括吸入和接触，尽管已在热带地区描述了由海鲜引起的 PlTX 中毒。为了解决 OVTX 对肠屏障的影响，甲藻提取物、纯化的 OVTX-a 和 -d 以及 PlTX 在分化的 Caco-2 细胞上进行了测试。处理24小时后记录活力、炎症反应和屏障完整性。OVTX-a 和 -d 在高达 20 ng/mL 时没有细胞毒性，但增加了 IL-8 的释放，尽管与 PlTX 相比程度较小。虽然 PlTX 和 OVTX-a（分别为 0.5 和 5 ng/mL）影响肠道屏障完整性，但 OVTX-d 高达 5 ng/mL 则不会。总体而言，OVTX-d 的毒性低于 OVTX-a 和 PlTX。因此，口服暴露于 OVTX-a 和 -d 可引起比 PlTX 更低的急性毒性。