The mycotoxin, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), inhibits the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase (EC 3.6.1.38) and Ca2+ transport activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum (Goeger, D. E., Riley, R. T., Dorner, J. W., and Cole, R. J. (1988) Biochem. Pharmacol. 37, 978-981). We found that at low ATP concentrations (0.5-2 microM) the inhibition of ATPase activity was essentially complete at a CPA concentration of 6-8 nmol/m...

Cyclopiazonic acid (α-cyclopiazonic acid, α-CPA) is an indole-hydrindane-tetramic acid neurotoxin produced by various fungal species, including the notorious food and feed contaminant Aspergillus flavus. Despite its discovery in A. flavus cultures approximately 40 years ago, its contribution to the A. flavus mycotoxin burden is consistently minimized by our focus on the more potent carcinogenic...

Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) is an indole-tetramic acid neurotoxin produced by some of the same strains of A. flavus that produce aflatoxins and by some Aspergillus oryzae strains. Despite its discovery 40 years ago, few reviews of its toxicity and biosynthesis have been reported. This review examines what is currently known about the toxicity of CPA to animals and humans, both by itself or in comb...

In this study, the production of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) was investigated in toxigenic and non-toxigenic Aspergillus flavus with respect to expression of aflR, veA and laeA genes that are involved to toxins production. A. flavus strains were cultured in YES broth at 28 °C for 4 days and the presence of (AFB1) and (CPA) was confirmed and measured by TLC and HPLC. The exp...

Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a novel specific inhibitor of Ca(2+)-ATPase in muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, shortened the Ca(2+)-dependent after-hyperpolarization (AHP) following a spike in the rat superior cervical ganglion. This inhibitory effect was reversible and dependent on concentrations between 1 and 5 microM. The AHP in the presence of 5 microM CPA was not depressed further by ryanodine, n...

Several nonaflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus have been registered in the United States to reduce aflatoxin accumulation in maize and other crops, but there may be unintended negative consequences if these strains produce cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). AF36, a nonaflatoxigenic, CPA-producing strain has been shown to produce CPA in treated maize and peanuts. Alternative strains, including Af...

The effect of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) on changes in the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) evoked by bradykinin (BK), histamine (HIST) and thapsigargin (TG) was investigated in human gingival fibroblasts. CPA itself dose-dependently stimulated [Ca2+]i responses in both the absence and presence of extracellular Ca2+. Pretreatment with CPA (< 5 microM) enhanced the [Ca2+]i responses...

Aspergillus oryzae strains are used extensively in the food industry. Some of these strains excrete alpha-cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a mycotoxin which may provoke toxicoses in rats. Physicochemical methods may reveal the presence of this toxin, but they are inadequate to screen CPA-nonproducing (CPA-) strains. CPA production is revealed by either bacterial growth inhibition or alkalinization of ...

The presence of fungi and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in 101 animal feed samples randomly collected from different vendors factories Algeria was investigated. For fungi, the main genera isolated were Aspergillus, Penicillium Fusarium. Furthermore, 459 strains Aspergillus section Flavi screened for their ability to produce aflatoxins cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). 49% produced AFB1 while 74.5% producers. hig...

Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), an indole-tetramic acid mycotoxin, is produced by many species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. In addition to CPA Aspergillus flavus produces polyketide-derived carcinogenic aflatoxins. Aflatoxin biosynthesis genes form a gene cluster in a subtelomeric region. Isolates of A. flavus lacking aflatoxin production due to the loss of the entire aflatoxin gene cluster and po...