In ovo exposure to cadmium causes right ventricle hyperplasia due to cell proliferation of cardiomyocytes.

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental and occupational pollutant inhaled through smoking or ingested through contaminated food. Yet, little is known about its teratogenicity. In this study, the effects of Cd on embryonic heart development were investigated by exposing Cd to chicken embryos in ovo. Fertilized eggs were treated with Cd at Hamburger-Hamilton Stage (HH)16 and collected at HH35 for histological evaluation of the heart. Cd treatment of 100 μM at HH16 increased embryo mortality at HH35. Specific structural heart defects were not observed in any Cd treatment group, but the relative myocardial tissue area of the right ventricle was increased with Cd exposure. When the HH31 hearts were stained with p-H3S10, the right ventricle had an increased number of cells undergoing proliferation, which was associated with upregulation of Cdk1, Cdk6, CycA, CycD, and CycE detected by qPCR. These findings suggest that Cd exposure from HH16 upregulates proliferation genes and drives overgrowth of the right ventricle. These results grant further attention to Cd teratogenicity on embryonic heart development. Such morphological changes in the heart can potentially affect cardiac function and increase the risk for future cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure.