Morphology, Viability, and Expression of Cardiac Markers in Human Cardiomyocytes After Exposure to Methamphetamine
| Author | Hossein Kargar Jahromi | en |
| Author | Khatere Roozbehi | en |
| Author | Faezeh Ebrahimi-Zadeh | en |
| Author | Vida Mirzaei | en |
| Author | Fatemeh Parsaei | en |
| Author | Vida Khalafi | en |
| Author | Mohammad Javad Zibaeenezhad | en |
| Author | Iman Razeghian-Jahromi | en |
| Orcid | Hossein Kargar Jahromi [0000-0002-2614-8885] | en |
| Orcid | Khatere Roozbehi [0000-0002-4414-9216] | en |
| Orcid | Faezeh Ebrahimi-Zadeh [0000-0003-0489-2643] | en |
| Orcid | Vida Mirzaei [0009-0001-7309-9465] | en |
| Orcid | Fatemeh Parsaei [0000-0001-8105-3697] | en |
| Orcid | Vida Khalafi [0009-0006-5433-3806] | en |
| Orcid | Mohammad Javad Zibaeenezhad [0000-0001-7157-6486] | en |
| Orcid | Iman Razeghian-Jahromi [0000-0001-8137-786X] | en |
| Issued Date | 2026-12-31 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Methamphetamine (METH), a highly addictive amphetamine derivative, is associated with severe cardiovascular complications, including cardiomyopathy. However, its precise effects on human cardiomyocytes (HCM) remain poorly understood. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the biological activity of HCM, including viability and cardiac-related marker expression, after exposure to METH. Methods: Cultured HCM were treated with 0.6 mM METH or phosphate-buffered saline vehicle. Cell morphology was assessed by inverted microscopy on days 1, 3, and 6. Viability was measured using the trypan blue exclusion method over 8 days. Expression of GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA4) and creatine kinase transcripts was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on days 1, 3, and 6, with β-actin as the endogenous control. Experiments were performed in 3 biological replicates, each assessed in technical triplicate. Independent-samples t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc tests were used for statistical comparisons between the METH-treated and vehicle-treated groups. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Unlike vehicle-treated cells, METH-treated HCM appeared unhealthy, with long, thin cytoplasmic processes on days 3 and 6. The number of viable cells increased transiently by day 4 but declined sharply by day 6 compared with vehicle-treated cells. GATA4 expression peaked significantly on day 1 (4.53 ± 0.74; 95% CI, 2.69 - 6.37; P = 0.011), decreased by day 3 (1.17 ± 1.43; 95% CI, 0.00 - 4.72), and was downregulated by day 6 (0.10 ± 0.23; 95% CI, 0.00 - 0.67) compared with the vehicle-treated group. Creatine kinase transcript expression showed a similar, statistically nonsignificant trend. Expression increased to 1.81 ± 0.71 (95% CI, 0.05 - 3.57) on day 1 and then was 1.47 ± 1.46 (95% CI, 0.00 - 5.10) on day 3. By day 6, expression had dropped sharply to 0.11 ± 0.38 (95% CI, 0.00 - 1.05). Conclusions: Methamphetamine induces morphological changes, increases cell number, and dynamically alters the expression of cardiac-related markers in HCM, possibly reflecting early stress followed by dysfunction. These findings highlight changes in cardiomyocyte biological activity after METH exposure that may adversely affect cellular function. This study also demonstrates the potential of HCM models for investigating cardiomyopathy associated with exogenous substances. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.69107/icrj-166605 | en |
| URI | https://brieflands.com/journals/ircrj/articles/166605 | en |
| Keyword | Methamphetamine | en |
| Keyword | Cardiomyocytes | en |
| Keyword | Morphology | en |
| Keyword | Survival | en |
| Keyword | Expression of Cardiac Markers | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Morphology, Viability, and Expression of Cardiac Markers in Human Cardiomyocytes After Exposure to Methamphetamine | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |