Cadmium stress assessment based on the electrocardiogram characteristics of zebra fish (Danio rerio): QRS complex could play an important role

The electrocardiogram (ECG) of zebra fish (Danio rerio) expresses cardiac features that are similar to humans. Here we use sharp microelectrode measurements to obtain ECG characteristics in adult zebra fish and analyze the effects of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) on the heart. We observe the overall changes of ECG parameters in different treatments (0.1 TU, 0.5 TU and 1.0 TU CdCl2), including P wave, Q wave, R wave, S wave, T wave, PR interval (atrial contraction), QRS complex (ventricular depolarization), ST segment, and QT interval (ventricular repolarization). The trends of the ECG parameters showed some responses to the concentration and exposure time of CdCl2, but it was difficult to obtain more information about the useful indicators in water quality assessment depending on tendency analysis alone. A self-organizing map (SOM) showed that P values, R values, and T values were similar; R wave and T wave amplitude were similar; and most important, QRS value was similar to the CdCl2 stress according to the classified data patterns including CdCl2 stress (E) and ECG components based on the Ward linkage. It suggested that the duration of QRS complex was related to environmental stress E directly. The specification and evaluation of ECG parameters in Cd2+ pollution suggested that there is a markedly significant correlation between QRS complex and CdCl2 stress with the highest r (0.729) and the smallest p (0.002) among all ECG characteristics. In this case, it is concluded that QRS complex can be used as an indicator in the CdCl2 stress assessment due to the lowest AIC data abased on the linear regression model between the CdCl2 stress and ECG parameters.