Dietary levels of acrylamide affect rat cardiomyocyte properties

The toxic effects of acrylamide on cytoskeletal integrity and ion channel balance is well-established in many cell types, but there has been little examination regarding the effects of acrylamide on primary cardiomyocytes, despite the importance of such components in their function. Furthermore, acrylamide toxicity is generally examined using concentrations higher than those found in vivo under starch-rich diets. Accordingly, we sought to characterize the dose-dependent effects of acrylamide on various properties, including cell morphology, contraction patterns, and junctional connexin 43 staining, in primary cardiomyocytes. We show that several days exposure to 1-100 μM acrylamide resulted in altered morphology, irregular contraction patterns, and an increase in the amount of immunoreactive signal for connexin 43 at cell junctions. We conclude that dietary levels of acrylamide may alter cellular function with prolonged exposure, in primary cardiomyocytes.