Abstract

Cardiac hypertrophy is a common finding in human patients with inborn errors of long-chain fatty acid oxidation. Mice with either very long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCAD-/-) or long-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (LCAD-/-) develop cardiac hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy, initially measured using heart/body weight ratios, was manifested most severely in LCAD-/- male mice. VLCAD-/- mice, as a group, showed a mild increase in normalized cardiac mass (8.8% hypertrophy compared with all wild-type (WT) mice). In contrast, LCAD-/- mice as a group showed more severe cardiac hypertrophy (32.2% increase compared with all WT mice). On the basis of a clear male predilection, we analyzed the role of dietary plant estrogenic compounds commonly found in mouse diets because of soy or alfalfa components providing natural phytoestrogens or isoflavones in cardioprotection of LCAD-/- mice. Male LCAD-/- mice fed an isoflavone-free test diet had more severe cardiac hypertrophy (58.1% hypertrophy compared with WT mice fed the same diet). There were no significant differences in the female groups fed any of the diets. Echocardiography measurement performed on male LCAD-deficient mice fed a standard diet at the age of approximately 3 months confirmed the substantial cardiac hypertrophy in these mice compared with WT controls. Left ventricular (LV) wall thickness of the interventricular septum and posterior wall was remarkably increased in LCAD-/- mice compared with that of WT controls. Accordingly, the calculated LV mass after normalization to body weight was increased by about 40% in the LCAD-/- mice compared with WT mice. In summary, we found that metabolic cardiomyopathy, expressed as hypertrophy, developed in mice because of either VLCAD deficiency or LCAD deficiency; however, LCAD deficiency was the most profound and seemed to be attenuated either by endogenous estrogen (in females) or by phytoestrogens present in the diet as isoflavones (in males).