Insights into human cardiac lipid dynamics through comprehensive arteriovenous lipidomics
6 affiliations
- 1Division of Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- 2Northwest Metabolomics Research Center, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- 3Mitochondria and Metabolism Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- 4Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- 5Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- 6Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Abstract
Free fatty acids (FFAs) are the adult heart’s primary energy substrate, but human cardiac lipid exchange remains incompletely characterized. We assessed cardiac lipid import and export using arteriovenous lipidomics in a prospective observational study of 59 fasting patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial arrhythmias. Paired arterial and coronary sinus plasma samples underwent targeted lipidomics, detecting 1,464 lipid species across 20 classes; 851 species were analyzed. Paired comparisons used separate Benjamini–Hochberg corrections for classes and species. The heart showed net uptake of FFAs (−122.4 μmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], −146.0 to −98.8; q = 1.49 × 10⁻13) and nonsignificant triglyceride uptake. Lysophosphatidylcholine was released (+4.32 μmol/L; 95% CI, 2.45 to 6.19; q = 2.12 × 10⁻⁴); no other class met q < 0.05. Thirty-two species met q < 0.05. Release from other classes offset FFA and triglyceride uptake on average, yielding a positive aggregate acyl-chain-equivalent difference (+28.2 μmol acyl-chain equivalents/L), although the CI included both uptake and release (95% CI, −112.8 to 169.2; P = 0.690). This study characterizes distinct patterns of cardiac lipid exchange under fasting conditions and provides a basis for studies in heart failure and broader cardiometabolic disease. Further studies are warranted to identify the sources of released lipids and explore cardiac lipid handling in the fed state.
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BibTeX
@article{bockus2026insights,
title = {{Insights into human cardiac lipid dynamics through comprehensive arteriovenous lipidomics}},
author = {Lee Bockus and Nadia Chamoun and Ahmad Kassar and Yaacoub Chahine and Romanos Haykal and Jason Li and Dennis Wang and Kevin O’Brien and Danijel Djukovic and Daniel Raftery and Zoltan Arany and Rong Tian and Nona Sotoodehnia and Nazem Akoum},
journal = {Journal of Lipid Research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.jlr.2026.101152},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlr.2026.101152},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Insights into human cardiac lipid dynamics through comprehensive arteriovenous lipidomics
AU - Lee Bockus
AU - Nadia Chamoun
AU - Ahmad Kassar
AU - Yaacoub Chahine
AU - Romanos Haykal
AU - Jason Li
AU - Dennis Wang
AU - Kevin O’Brien
AU - Danijel Djukovic
AU - Daniel Raftery
AU - Zoltan Arany
AU - Rong Tian
AU - Nona Sotoodehnia
AU - Nazem Akoum
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - Journal of Lipid Research
DO - 10.1016/j.jlr.2026.101152
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlr.2026.101152
AB - Free fatty acids (FFAs) are the adult heart’s primary energy substrate, but human cardiac lipid exchange remains incompletely characterized. We assessed cardiac lipid import and export using arteriovenous lipidomics in a prospective observational study of 59 fasting patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial arrhythmias. Paired arterial and coronary sinus plasma samples underwent targeted lipidomics, detecting 1,464 lipid species across 20 classes; 851 species were analyzed. Paired comparisons used separate Benjamini–Hochberg corrections for classes and species. The heart showed net uptake of FFAs (−122.4 μmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], −146.0 to −98.8; q = 1.49 × 10⁻13) and nonsignificant triglyceride uptake. Lysophosphatidylcholine was released (+4.32 μmol/L; 95% CI, 2.45 to 6.19; q = 2.12 × 10⁻⁴); no other class met q < 0.05. Thirty-two species met q < 0.05. Release from other classes offset FFA and triglyceride uptake on average, yielding a positive aggregate acyl-chain-equivalent difference (+28.2 μmol acyl-chain equivalents/L), although the CI included both uptake and release (95% CI, −112.8 to 169.2; P = 0.690). This study characterizes distinct patterns of cardiac lipid exchange under fasting conditions and provides a basis for studies in heart failure and broader cardiometabolic disease. Further studies are warranted to identify the sources of released lipids and explore cardiac lipid handling in the fed state.
SN - 0022-2275
SN - 1539-7262
ER -