title: In vitro cardiotoxicity assessment of environmental chemicals using an organotypic human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived model.
abstract: An important target area for addressing data gaps through in vitro screening is the detection of potential cardiotoxicants. Despite the fact that current conservative estimates relate at least 23% of all cardiovascular disease cases to environmental exposures, the identities of the causative agents remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we evaluate the feasibility of a combinatorial in vitro/in silico screening approach for functional and mechanistic cardiotoxicity profiling of environmental hazards using a library of 69 representative environmental chemicals and drugs. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes were exposed in concentration-response for 30min or 24h and effects on cardiomyocyte beating and cellular and mitochondrial toxicity were assessed by kinetic measurements of intracellular Ca2+flux and high-content imaging using the nuclear dye Hoechst 33342, the cell viability marker Calcein AM, and the mitochondrial depolarization probe JC-10. More than half of the tested chemicals exhibited effects on cardiomyocyte beating after 30min of exposure. In contrast, after 24h, effects on cell beating without concomitant cytotoxicity were observed in about one third of the compounds. Concentration-response data for in vitro bioactivity phenotypes visualized using the Toxicological Prioritization Index (ToxPi) showed chemical class-specific clustering of environmental chemicals, including pesticides, flame retardants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. For environmental chemicals with human exposure predictions, the activity-to-exposure ratios between modeled blood concentrations and in vitro bioactivity were between one and five orders of magnitude. These findings not only demonstrate that some ubiquitous environmental pollutants might have the potential at high exposure levels to alter cardiomyocyte function, but also indicate similarities in the mechanism of these effects both within and among chemicals and classes.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Devices, LLC, Sunnyvale, CA, USA. Electronic address: oksana.sirenko@moldev.com.
authors.forename: Oksana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sirenko
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Fabian A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Kristen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Weihsueh A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parham
authors.affiliation: ICF, Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wignall
authors.affiliation: Cellular Dynamics International, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Blake
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Anson
authors.affiliation: Protein Fluidics, Inc., Burlingame, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Evan F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Cromwell
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Mamta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behl
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rusyn
authors.affiliation: Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Tice
mesh_terms: D054715:Cardiotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques
chemical_list: D054715:Cardiotoxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants
keywords: Alternative methods; Cardiomyocytes; Cardiotoxicity; Environmental toxicology; High-content screening; Induced pluripotent stem cells