Glucose is preferentially utilized for biomass synthesis in pressure-overloaded hearts: Evidence from fatty acid-binding protein-4 and-5 knockout mice

Aims The metabolism of the failing heart is characterized by an increase in glucose uptake with reduced fatty acid (FA) oxidation. We previously found that the genetic deletion of FA-binding protein-4 and -5 [double knockout (DKO)] induces an increased myocardial reliance on glucose with decreased FA uptake in mice. However, whether this fuel switch confers functional benefit during the hypertrophic response remains open to debate. To address this question, we investigated the contractile function and metabolic profile of DKO hearts subjected to pressure overload.