DHA, a potentially therapeutic lipid for myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction triggers extensive death of cardiomyocytes (CMs), which ultimately culminates in heart failure. The adult zebrafish heart and the neonatal mouse heart possess full capacity of cardiac regeneration. Metabolic shifts from glycolysis to oxidative metabolism are thought to influence the capacity of CMs to reinitiate the cell cycle and undergo proliferation. Numerous evidence indicates that metabolically manipulating cardiomyocytes can markedly influence their proliferative capacity. Whether suppressing fatty acid oxidation promotes or hinders cardiac regeneration remains a subject of intense debate. A most recent work from Dr. Jun Chen’s lab revealed that cpt1ab deletion led to intracellular lipid accumulation to promote zebrafish heart regeneration. Their data also revealed that DHA promotes CM proliferation through PPARD. DHA/PPARD signaling pathway may offer promise in treating heart failure.