Assessment of acute functional effects of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA), and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes using multielectrode arrays.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent environmental pollutants associated with public health risks. The cardiac electrophysiological effects of the representative long-chain PFAS perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and short-chain PFASs such as heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA) and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) remain insufficiently understood. In this study, the electrophysiological effects of PFASs were evaluated in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) using multielectrode array (MEA) analysis. Exposure to 100 μM PFOA increased beat period and field potential duration, while reducing spike amplitude in a concentration-dependent manner without affecting contractility. In contrast, HFBA and HFPO-DA did not cause notable changes in either electrophysiological or contractility parameters. These results suggest that acute PFOA exposure disrupts cardiac electrophysiological function, whereas HFBA and HFPO-DA showed no notable effects within the tested conditions.