Non-Uniform Bioaccumulation of Lead and Arsenic in Two Remote Regions of the Human Heart's Left Ventricle: A Post-Mortem Study

• Published in: Biomolecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 1232
• Main Authors: Cirovic, Ana, Orisakwe, Orish E, Cirovic, Aleksandar, Jevtic, Jovan, Tasic, Danijela, Tasic, Nebojsa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-08-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Aged; Aging - metabolism; Arsenic; Arsenic - metabolism; Arsenic - pharmacokinetics; Arsenic - toxicity; Atherosclerosis; Autopsy; Bioaccumulation; Cadmium; Cardiac muscle; Cardiomyocytes; Cardiotoxicity; Cardiotoxicity - metabolism; Cardiovascular disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Female; Gas flow; Health aspects; Heart failure; Heart ventricle, Left; Heart Ventricles - cytology; Heart Ventricles - drug effects; Heart Ventricles - metabolism; Heart Ventricles - pathology; Heavy metals; Humans; Hypoxia; Iron; Kinases; Lead; Lead - metabolism; Lead - pharmacokinetics; Lead - toxicity; left ventricle; Male; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Mortality; Myocardium; post-mortem; Scientific imaging; Septum; Ventricle; Ventricular Septum - cytology; Ventricular Septum - drug effects; Ventricular Septum - metabolism; Ventricular Septum - pathology; Serbia; United Kingdom > UK; arsenic; left ventricle; lead; post-mortem
• ISSN: 2218-273X; 2218-273X
• DOI: 10.3390/biom13081232

The extent of heavy-metal-induced cardiotoxicity is proportional to the levels of metal bioaccumulation, and it was previously assumed that heavy metals accumulate uniformly in the myocardium. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate concentrations of metals and metalloids in two distant regions of the left ventricle (LV), the base of the LV, and apex of the LV using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We also examined the potential correlation between metal levels and the thickness of the interventricular septum in twenty LV specimens (ten from the base of LV and ten from the apex of LV) from 10 individuals (mean age 75 ± 6 years). We found significantly higher concentrations of arsenic and lead in the LV apex compared to the base of the LV. We also found a positive correlation between the concentrations of arsenic in the myocardium of LV and the thickness of the interventricular septum. Our results indicate that arsenic and lead accumulate to a higher extent in the apex of the LV compared to the base of the LV. Therefore, future studies designed to measure levels of metals in heart muscle should consider non-uniform accumulation of metals in the myocardium.