Effects of Medium-chain Triglyceride (MCT) application to SHR on cardiac function, hypertrophy and expression of endothelin-1 mRNA and other genes

In spontaneously hypertensive rats a decrease occurs in myocardial energy supply from long-chain triglyceride (LCT) by CD36 gene mutation-induced dysfunction. We investigated whether long-term intake of medium-chain triglyceride, which enters into cells without CD36, upregulates fatty acid metabolic capacity in the heart of spontaneously hypertensive rats, and whether this upregulation improves cardiac hypertrophy and molecular markers. Male 4-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats were given medium-chain triglyceride (SHR-MCT) or LCT (SHR-LCT) for 16 weeks. After hemodynamic measurement, we determined myocardial fatty acid metabolic enzyme activity and mRNA expression of molecular markers (endothelin-1, α-skeletal actin, angiotensin- converting enzyme and brain natriuretic peptide) for cardiac hypertrophy. We used Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY-MCT and WKY-LCT) as controls. When compared with SHR-LCT rats, SHR-MCT rats showed an increase in myocardial fatty acid metabolic enzyme activity and improvement in cardiac function (left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and +dP/dt/P) and cardiac hypertrophy. Blood pressure did not differ between them. The mRNA expression of endothelin-1, α-skeletal actin, angiotensin-converting enzyme and brain natriuretic peptide in the heart was significantly higher in SHR-LCT than in WKY-MCT and WKY-LCT rats, and there was no significant difference between SHR-LCT and SHR-MCT. These findings suggest that medium-chain triglyceride application to spontaneously hypertensive rats improves decreased cardiac function and cardiac hypertrophy without affecting blood pressure and myocardial mRNA expression of molecular markers. Because mechanical stress to the heart is similar between SHR-LCT and SHR-MCT, this may be a reason for the lack of difference in expression of molecular markers.