title: Testosterone Replacement Modulates Cardiac Metabolic Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction by Upregulating PPARα.
abstract: Despite the importance of testosterone as a metabolic hormone, its effects on myocardial metabolism in the ischemic heart remain unclear. Myocardial ischemia leads to metabolic remodeling, ultimately resulting in ATP deficiency and cardiac dysfunction. In the present study, the effects of testosterone replacement on the ischemic heart were assessed in a castrated rat myocardial infarction model established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery 2 weeks after castration. The results of real-time PCR and Western blot analyses showed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) decreased in the ischemic myocardium of castrated rats, compared with the sham-castration group, and the mRNA expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism (the fatty acid translocase CD36, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, and medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase) and glucose transporter-4 also decreased. A decline in ATP levels in the castrated rats was accompanied by increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis and fibrosis and impaired cardiac function, compared with the sham-castration group, and these detrimental effects were reversed by testosterone replacement. Taken together, our findings suggest that testosterone can modulate myocardial metabolic remodeling by upregulating PPARα after myocardial infarction, exerting a protective effect on cardiac function.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine Department, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine Department, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Fengyue
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7434-2164
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine Department, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Weiju
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9706-5916
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine Department, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8879-1350
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Mingyu
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3589-4297
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiovascular Internal Medicine Department, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, 23 Youzheng Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2902-3356
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fu