Researchers Use Proteomic-based Approach to Study the Effect of GM Corn Diet on Rats

Insect resistant corn (MON810) has been shown to be non-toxic to mammals based on several rodent feeding studies which were conducted following the OECD Guidelines. Though whole animal studies were still deemed as the "gold standard" for safety assessment, the results only show changes at the cellular, tissue, and organ level. Thus, scientists from the University of Newcastle, UK, and partners conducted a proteomic-based study to understand the mechanisms that occur at the cellular/receptor level. Their findings are reported in Transgenic Research.

Differential gene expression in the epithelial cells of the small intestine of rats fed formulated diets containing MON810, its near isogenic line, two conventional corn varieties, and a commercial corn-based control diet were studied using comparative proteomic profiling. Results showed that most of the proteins were differentially expressed in the small intestine epithelial cells as response to the various feeding diets. Regardless of the designated diet, a few of the stress-related proteins exhibited variations in expression. There were no significant clinical or behavioral effects or biomarkers of adverse health found in rats fed with GM corns, compared to other diets.

Based on the results, MON810 has negligible effects on the small intestine of rats at the cellular level.

Read more from Transgenic Research.