Publication Date
2026
Presentation Length
Poster/Gallery presentation
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Biology, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Andrea Florian PhD
Presentation Type
Poster
Summary
Chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin and etoposide are widely used in cancer treatment but are known to produce cardiotoxic side effects that can limit their clinical use. Doxorubicin has been strongly associated with dose-dependent cardiac damage, and etoposide has also been reported to produce cardiotoxic effects although the cardiotoxic effects of etoposide are not as well studied. Daphnia magna is a useful model organism for cardiotoxicity studies because its transparent body allows direct observation of heart rate and provides a living system for detecting physiological responses to exposure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cardiotoxic effects of chemotherapy drugs using doxorubicin and etoposide in Daphnia magna. Juvenile Daphnia were exposed to defined concentrations of each drug prepared from stock solutions using DMSO as a solvent, and heart rate was measured after 24 hours of exposure. Survival was recorded during preliminary experiments to determine appropriate concentration dose. Exposure to doxorubicin resulted in decreased heart rate at higher concentrations, consistent with dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, and etoposide exposure also produced a decrease in heart rate compared to control groups. These results support the use of Daphnia magna as a model system for studying the cardiac effects of chemotherapeutic agents.
Recommended Citation
Bealle, Jacob P. and Florian, Andrea, "Assessment of Doxorubicin and Etoposide Effects on Cardiotoxicity Using Daphnia magna as a Model Organism" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 1137.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/1137
