Effects of a high saturated fat diet on cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction in response to pressure overload.
BACKGROUND
Dietary lipid content effects activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) and may accelerate cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction in response to pressure overload. This study investigated the effects of a high-fat diet on the development of cardiac hypertrophy.


RESULTS
C57BL/6J mice (n = 14-16/group) underwent transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or sham surgery and were fed either standard low-fat diet (STD; 10% fat) or a high-fat diet (HFD; 60% fat) for 16 weeks. Sham mice showed no differences between STD and HFD for heart mass or echocardiographic parameters despite greater plasma free fatty acid and leptin concentrations with HFD. TAC increased heart mass and decreased ejection fraction similarly in both groups. Left ventricular end systolic and diastolic diameters with TAC were increased compared with shams on the HFD (P < .05), but were not different from STD TAC mice. High-fat feeding increased expression of PPAR-alpha-regulated genes. The activity of medium chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD), a marker of fatty acid oxidation capacity, was increased in HFD TAC mice compared with STD, consistent with PPAR-alpha activation.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased fat intake prevented the fall in MCAD activity and did not exacerbate the hypertrophic response to TAC compared with a low-fat diet.
Chess
David J
DJ
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Lei
Biao
B
Hoit
Brian D
BD
Azimzadeh
Agnes M
AM
Stanley
William C
WC
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011336:Probability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D011897:Random Allocation; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology
D004041:Dietary Fats; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D047493:PPAR alpha; D012333:RNA, Messenger