Modeling cadmium-induced endothelial toxicity using human pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells.

ABSTRACT: Cadmium (Cd) is a harmful heavy metal that results in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Prior evidence revealed that Cd induced endothelial cell (EC) death and dysfunction, supporting that ECs are a primary target of Cd-induced toxicity, and can cause severe pathologies of vascular diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of Cd-induced endothelial toxicity in a human model system of H9 human pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells (H9-ECs). We showed that H9-ECs were susceptible to CdCl₂ induction, leading to detrimental changes of cell structure and significantly elevated level of apoptosis. We demonstrated that CdCl₂-treated H9-ECs gave rise to a clear EC dysfunction phenotype and sig

SUBMITTER: Tang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5665915 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature