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Short-Chain Fatty Acid Butyrate Is an Inotropic Agent With Vasorelaxant and Cardioprotective Properties
Jacob Marthinsen Seefeldt1,2, Casper Homilius3, Jakob Hansen1,4
1Department of Clinical Medicine Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark.
Journal of the American Heart Association
|April 30, 2024
Summary
Butyrate, a gut microbe byproduct, enhances heart function by increasing cardiac output and relaxing blood vessels. This beneficial effect was observed even in damaged hearts, suggesting therapeutic potential for heart failure.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Microbiome-Heart Axis
- Pharmacology
Background:
- The heart metabolizes microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acid butyrate.
- Butyrate may offer benefits in heart failure, but mechanisms are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if butyrate elevates cardiac output via direct stimulation of cardiac contractility and vasorelaxation in rats.
Main Methods:
- In vivo hemodynamics (echocardiography, blood pressure)
- Isolated perfused rat hearts (Langendorff system)
- Isolated rat coronary arteries (wire myography)
Main Results:
- Butyrate increased cardiac output (48.8%), stroke volume (38.5%), and ejection fraction (39.6%) in vivo.
- Butyrate enhanced contractility in isolated hearts and reduced infarct size after ischemia-reperfusion.
- Butyrate concentration-dependently relaxed isolated coronary arteries (EC50=0.57 mM).
Conclusions:
- Butyrate elevates cardiac output through increased cardiac contractility and vasorelaxation.
- Butyrate's beneficial effects were not linked to myocardial injury in ischemia-reperfusion models.
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