Impact of alpha-tocopherol on cardiac hypertrophy due to energy metabolism disorder: the involvement of 1,2-diacylglycerol.

Objective: The juvenile visceral steatosis (JVS) mouse, a murine model of systemic carnitine deficiency, shows a disorder of fatty acid oxidation and develops cardiac hypertrophy associated with lipid accumulation. Recently, alpha-tocopherol was shown to decrease 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) levels. We investigated the involvement of DAG in cardiac hypertrophy due to energy metabolism disorder by evaluating the effects of alpha-tocopherol administration on the hearts of JVS mice.

Relaxant properties mediated by nitroglycerin in aortic coarctation hypertensive rats.

Nitroglycerin-mediated vasorelaxation is chiefly attributed to the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent pathway, and partly to the cGMP-independent pathway via calcium-activated K(+) channels (K(Ca)). To investigate whether chronic hypertension alters responses of vascular smooth muscle to vasoactive agonists, we determined nitroglycerin-mediated relaxation of aortic rings from coarctation hypertensive rats. Banding the abdominal aorta above the renal arteries for 4 weeks elevated blood pressure and caused cardiac hypertrophy by 49%.

Changes in distinct species of 1,2-diacylglycerol in cardiac hypertrophy due to energy metabolic disorder.

Objective: The juvenile visceral steatosis (JVS) mouse, a genetic model of systemic carnitine deficiency resulting from carnitine transport mutation, develops cardiac hypertrophy. We determined two putative lipid messengers, 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) and ceramide, in JVS and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I) inhibitor etomoxir-treated mice because these lipids function as co-messengers in the myocardium via modification of protein kinase C activity.

Methods: JVS mice were evaluated at 4 and 8 weeks of age.

Dietary fish oil does not prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy in rats.

Background: Dietary fish oil potentiates the susceptibility of cellular membranes to lipid peroxidation, although it is also known to have beneficial effects on the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Objective: The effects of dietary fish oil against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy, in which free radicals and lipid peroxidation are involved, were investigated in rats.

Animals And Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (100 g) were fed a standard diet or a high fish oil diet (containing 10% fish oil) throughout the experimental period.

Differential effect of two common polymorphisms in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene on low-density lipoprotein particle size.

This study was performed to determine the relationship between the two common polymorphisms of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene and LDL size in Japanese individuals. The LDL size was determined by gradient gel electrophoresis in 136 patients undergoing routine check-ups. The presence of two polymorphisms (I405V and Taq1B) was determined using PCR-based methods.