Available online 10 November 2022

A first integrative study using human and murine hearts on association of lipids in heart failure was investigated.

Lipid fingerprinting led to the identification of 273 species in clinical and mice samples.

A decrease in cardiac phosphatidylethanolamines is associated with human ischemic heart disease.

Inter-organ (heart, spleen, and kidney) and systemic lipid signatures were profiled in acute and chronic HF post-MI mice with decreased sulfatides (SHexCer (34:1; 2O)) and sphingomyelins (SM (d18:1/16:0)) as plasma and tissue biomarkers of heart failure.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of heart failure (HF). After MI, lipids undergo several phasic changes implicated in cardiac repair if inflammation resolves on time. However, if inflammation continues, that leads to end stage HF progression and development. Numerous studies have analyzed the traditional risk factors; however, temporal lipidomics data for human and animal models are limited. Thus, we aimed to obtain sequential lipidomics data from acute to chronic HF.

Here, we report the comprehensive lipidome of the hearts from diseased and healthy subjects. To induce heart failure in mice, we used a non-reperfused model of coronary ligation, and MI was confirmed by echocardiography and histology, then temporal kinetics of lipids in different tissue (heart, spleen, kidney), and plasma were quantitated from heart failure mice and compared with naïve controls. For lipid analysis in mice and human samples untargeted liquid chromatography-linear trap quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry (LC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS) was performed.

In humans, multivariate analysis revealed distinct cardiac lipid profiles between healthy and ischemic subjects, with 16 lipid species significantly downregulated by 5-fold, mainly phosphatidylethanolamines (PE), in the ischemic heart. In contrast, PE levels were markedly increased in mouse tissues and plasma in chronic MI, indicating possible cardiac remodeling. Further, fold change analysis revealed site-specific lipid biomarkers for acute and chronic HF. A significant decrease in sulfatides (SHexCer (34:1; 2O)) and sphingomyelins (SM (d18:1/16:0)) was observed in mouse tissues and plasma in chronic HF.

Overall, a significant decreased lipidome in human ischemic LV and differential lipid metabolites in the transition of acute to chronic HF with inter-organ communication could provide novel insights into targeting integrative pathways for the early diagnosis or development of novel therapeutics to delay/prevent HF.

Heart failure

Inflammation biomarker

Multivariate analysis

Echocardiography

Histology

Lipidomics

Liquid chromatography/Mass spectrometry

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