Differential Gene Expression of Human Retinal Organoids after Cadmium Exposure

Cadmium, a heavy metal environmental toxin known for its neurotoxic effects on the central nervous system, is implicated in multiple eye diseases, including cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. However, due to the lack of suitable experimental models, there is limited data on the impact of cadmium exposure on human retinal development. To gain further insights into the molecular disruptions in retinal organoids after cadmium exposure, we performed a high throughput RNA-sequencing analysis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that cadmium exposure upregulated the expression of metallothioneins (MT1E, MT1X, MT2A, MT1G, MT1H, MT1F, MT1M, MT1HL1, SLC30A1 and MT1A), profoundly disrupted ion homeostasis in retinal cells, and potentially suppressed the development of human retinal organoid by modulating pathways involved in environmental information processing. In addition, we identified several other hub genes (such as FOS and JUN) through PPI analysis.