Analysis of Serum Cholesterol Efflux Capacity in a Minipig Model of Nonischemic Heart Failure

AIM: Circulating levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are decreased in patients with heart failure (HF). We tested whether HDL-C serum levels are associated with cardiac contractile dysfunction in a minipig HF model. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 13 adult male minipigs: 1) before pacemaker implantation, 2) 10 days after surgery, and 3) 3 weeks after high-rate LV pacing. Serum cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), an index of HDL functionality, was assessed through four mechanisms: ATP Binding Cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), ATP Binding Cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1), Scavenger Receptor-Class B Type I (SR-BI) and Passive Diffusion (PD). RESULTS: HDL-C serum levels significantly decrease in minipigs with HF compared with baseline (p＜0.0001). Serum CEC mediated by PD and SR-BI, but not ABCA1 or ABCG1, significantly decrease in animals with HF (p＜0.05 and p＜0.005, respectively). DISCUSSION: HDL-C serum levels and partial serum CEC reduction may play a pathophysiological role in the cardiac function decay sustained by high-rate LV pacing, opening new avenues to understand of the pathogenesis of nonischemic myocardial remodeling.