Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 40606519 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmccpl.2025.100462
Blueprint of the distinct metabolite profiles of healthy pig heart chambers.
J Mol Cell Cardiol Plus 13:100462
Authors: Retu Haikonen, Topi Meuronen, Ville Koistinen, Olli Kärkkäinen, Tomi Tuomainen, Gloria I Solano-Aguilar, Joseph F Urban, Marko Lehtonen, Pasi Tavi, Kati Hanhineva
Affiliations
- Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
- Food Sciences Unit, Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Finland.
- School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
- U.S Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Northeast Area, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Diet Genomics and Immunology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD, United States.
Abstract
The heart is one of the most studied organs, with physiological processes and disease research. While it is well-established that significant structural and functional differences exist between the chambers, most studies focus on only a single heart chamber, predominantly the left ventricle. This study aims to comprehensively characterise the chamber-specific metabolic profiles of all four heart chambers in a healthy animal model close to human metabolism, pigs. We employed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics to analyse the metabolite profiles of heart chambers in healthy pigs (N = 30) maintained on an ad libitum diet and housed under standard, non-stressed physiological conditions. Our findings reveal a higher energy demand in the left ventricle, as evidenced by elevated levels of electron transport chain-related metabolites such as NAD + and FAD. Additionally, hexose-phosphates and several acylcarnitines exhibited chamber-dependent variations in abundance. The ventricles, particularly the left, demonstrated distinct redox states, with differential levels of glutathione and ascorbic acid, suggesting variations in oxidative stress across chambers. Furthermore, amino acids had chamber-specific abundance patterns, and ventricles showed an increased requirement for protein synthesis, likely associated with repair mechanisms following reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced cellular damage. Our study reveals significant differences in the metabolic profiles across four heart chambers in healthy pig hearts, underscoring the metabolic heterogeneity of cardiac tissue. These findings highlight the necessity of investigating chamber-specific metabolic pathways to better understand heart functionality. Such insights could inform the development of more precise therapeutic strategies tailored to metabolic demands and functional roles in heart chambers.
MeSH
Heart, Stress, Physiological