Targeting Lipids Differentially Regulated in Settings of Physiological Cardiac Hypertrophy and Disease

The heart enlarges in response to stress such as cardiovascular disease. This is considered “bad” enlargement/growth as it typically progresses to heart failure. “Good” enlargement however, occurs in response to exercise and this is known to be protective. There are many defining traits between good and bad heart enlargement, but little is known about the regulation of lipids. In this thesis, approximately 600 lipids were profiled in various mouse models of good and bad heart enlargement. Differential regulation of lipids were identified, and treatment strategies to modulate specific lipids were conducted. Targeting lipids as a therapeutic strategy warrants further study.