Quercetin prevents left ventricular hypertrophy in the Apo E knockout mouse

Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for the development of hypertrophic carcliomyopathy. Nevertheless, there are few studies aimed at determining the effects of dietary compounds on early or mild cardiac hypertrophy associated with clyslipidemia. Here we describe left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in 12 week-old Apo E-/- hypercholesterolemic mice. The LVend diastolic posterior wall thickness and overall LV mass were significantly increased in Apo E-/- mice compared with wild type (WT) controls. Fractional shortening, LV end diastolic diameter, and hemodynamic parameters were unchanged from WT mice. Oral low dose quercetin (QCN; 0.1 mu mol QCN/kg body weight for 6 weeks) significantly reduced total cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein in the plasma of Apo E-/- mice. QCN treatment also significantly decreased LV posterior wall thickness and LV mass in Apo E-/- mice. Myocardial geometry and function were unaffected in WT mice by QCN treatment. These data suggest that dietary polyphenolic compounds such as QCN may be effective modulators of plasma cholesterol and could prevent maladaptive myocardial remodeling. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-N-C-SA license.