2009 Volume 14 Issue 3 Pages 954-957
The cardiac toxicity of arsenic trioxide (ATO) was studied in chick embryos. Fertilized eggs of White Leghorns were incubated and investigated. The chick embryonic heart has been often used in pharmacologic and toxicologic experiments. After ATO at 0.25, 0.5 or 1.0 mg/egg was injected into fertilized eggs, heart rates (HRs) were measured by electrocardiogram. After low dosing of ATO, the heart rate was not different compared with control. However, HRs significantly decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner (p<0.05). In addition, arrhythmia was produced by high dosing of ATO. These findings indicate that ATO has a marked influence on the heart rate dose- and time-dependently in chick embryos.
