2014 Theses Doctoral

Fat in hearts: Uptake, storage, and turnover

Trent, Chad

The heart is one of the most energy demanding organs and is metabolically flexible to meet those demands. A major fraction of the hearts energy is derived from the uptake of circulating lipids; this dissertation reviews general pathways of lipid metabolism and then discusses how the heart obtains lipids and how these lipids are processed once inside the heart. Furthermore, derangements in lipid uptake and processing that are associated or causative of cardiac dysfunction are discussed. A new finding describes how the mouse heart requires lipoprotein lipase derived fatty acids for intracellular lipid droplets formation. Finally, the implications of these findings and future studies are described.