Cardioprotective Effect of Gamma-Oryzanol on Myocardium Proteome of Rats Submitted to Diet-Induced Obesity

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a public health issue comprising approximately 17.9 million deaths annually. The causes of CVD are multifactorial, with obesity being a significant contributing factor. Gamma-oryzanol (Oz) is a bioactive compound whose beneficial effects on chronic metabolic diseases have been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the gamma-oryzanol effect on the myocardium proteome of rats submitted to a high sugar-fat diet consumption. Wistar rats were randomly distributed into the following three groups (n = 6/group): Control, High sugar-fat (HSF), and HSF + Oz for 30 weeks. We evaluated nutritional, metabolic, and hormonal profiles to verify obesity induction and its metabolic outcomes. Cardiac morphology and function were evaluated by an echocardiography study, and the presence of cardiac fibrosis was assessed by histological analysis. Next, we applied the proteomics approach in cardiac tissue. Our results revealed that gamma-oryzanol prevented the outcomes induced by the HSF diet, including cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis. The compound prevented the alterations of the myocardium proteome, highlighted by the modulation of lipid metabolism, fibrosis, cardiac contractility, eukaryotic initiation factor (EIF2) pathway, and the sirtuin signaling pathway. Gamma-oryzanol presents a cardioprotective effect on proteome changes in rats with diet-induced obesity.