The application of induced pluripotent stem cells to assess the toxic effects of environmental contaminants.

Human exposure to environmental contaminants is inevitable due to lifestyle, geographical proximity to the source, socioeconomic status, and the omnipresence of pollutants. The growing body of literature has advanced our understanding of the potential toxicity of a wide range of contaminants, from pharmaceuticals to nano plastics, however, knowledge gaps still exist. Homosalate (HS) and Triphenyl Phosphate (TPP) are chemical compounds of different commercial products used extensively by consumers. Both chemicals have been detected in the human bloodstream, raising concerns about the potential adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and human health. In this study, we harness the potential of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSCs-CMs) as a model to test the effect of these two chemicals on cardiac gene expression profiles, using the quantitative PCR method. Our findings showed that continuous exposure to HS and TPP at 30 and 60 µM doses for 24 hours leads to a dose-dependent significant reduction in the expression of the key cardiac structural and functional genes (TNNT2, TNNC1, MYH-6, MYH-7, MYL-2, ACTN2, and MYBPC3). Thus, this study demonstrated the feasibility of using hiPSCs-CMs as an in vitro model to access cardiotoxic and other functional parameters.