Publication Date
Spring 4-22-2026
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Biology, Department of
Presentation Type
Poster
Summary
Although chemotherapies are widely used for cancer treatment, they pose side effects of cardiotoxicity. Cisplatin is a chemotherapy that binds covalently to DNA and causes cross-links that prevent further replication. However, limited data suggest that cisplatin may cause arrhythmias and acute myocardial infarction, likely due to oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species in mitochondria of the heart. Daphnia magna are effective models for assessing cisplatin cardiotoxicity because their transparent bodies allow direct observation of the heart, and heart rate can be easily measured under a microscope. We aim to determine whether cisplatin chemotherapy causes cardiotoxicity in vivo using D. magna. To test this, we exposed D.magna to three cisplatin concentrations for a varied amount of time and monitored heart rate with a microscope. These experiments will determine whether cisplatin has cardiotoxic behavior in vivo.
Recommended Citation
Woten, Cody and Florian, Andrea, "Cisplatin Chemotherapy Shown to Decrease Heart Rate in Daphnia magna" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 1146.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/1146
