Faculty Collaboration Database

Gestational arsenite exposure alters maternal postpartum heart size and induces Ca²⁺-handling dysregulation in cardiomyocytes. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2025 Mar 01;328(3):H460-H471

Date

01/31/2025

Pubmed ID

39888327

Pubmed Central ID

PMC12226173

DOI

10.1152/ajpheart.00266.2024

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85219086993 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   1 Citation

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Studies suggest a role for environmental exposures in the etiology of cardiovascular disease, including exposure to arsenic through drinking water. Arsenic exposure during pregnancy has been shown to have effects on offspring, but few studies have examined impacts on maternal cardiovascular health. Although our prior work documented the detrimental effect of arsenic on the maternal heart during pregnancy, our current study examines the effect of gestational arsenic exposure on the maternal heart postpartum. Timed-pregnant wild-type (C57BL/6J) mice were exposed to 0, 100, or 1,000 µg/L sodium arsenite (NaAsO₂) via drinking water from embryonic day 2.5 until parturition. Postpartum heart structure and function was assessed via transthoracic echocardiography and gravimetric measurement. Hypertrophic markers were probed via qRT-PCR and Western blot. Isolated cardiomyocyte Ca²⁺-handling and contraction were also assessed, along with the expression of with Ca²⁺-handling and contractile proteins. Interestingly, we found that exposure to either 100 or 1,000 µg/L sodium arsenite increased postpartum heart size at postpartum day 12 vs. nonexposed postpartum controls. At the cellular level, we found altered cardiomyocyte Ca²⁺-handling and contraction, along with expression changes of key contractile proteins, including α-actin and cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-c). Together, these findings suggest that gestational arsenic exposure impacts the postpartum maternal heart, possibly inducing long-term cardiovascular changes. Furthermore, these findings highlight the importance of reducing arsenic exposure during pregnancy, and the need for more research on the impact of arsenic on maternal heart health and adverse pregnancy events.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Gestational exposure to sodium arsenite at environmentally relevant doses (100 and 1,000 µg/L) increases postpartum heart size, and induces dysregulated Ca²⁺ homeostasis and impaired shortening in isolated cardiomyocytes. This is the first study to demonstrate that gestational arsenic exposure impacts postpartum heart structure and function beyond the exposure period.

Author List

Taube N, Steiner M, Ebenebe-Kasonde OV, Kabir R, Garbus-Grant H, Alam El Din SM, Illingworth E, Wang N, Lin BL, Kohr MJ

Author

Brian L. Lin PhD Assistant Professor in the Cell Biology Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Arsenites
Calcium
Calcium Signaling
Female
Heart
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Myocardial Contraction
Myocytes, Cardiac
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Sodium Compounds