Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice
Brian L. Stauffer, John P. Konhilas, Elizabeth D. Luczak, Leslie A. Leinwand
Brian L. Stauffer, John P. Konhilas, Elizabeth D. Luczak, Leslie A. Leinwand
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Research Article Cardiology

Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice

Abstract

We report that dietary modification from a soy-based diet to a casein-based diet radically improves disease indicators and cardiac function in a transgenic mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. On a soy diet, males with a mutation in the α-myosin heavy chain gene progress to dilation and heart failure. However, males fed a casein diet no longer deteriorate to severe, dilated cardiomyopathy. Remarkably, their LV size and contractile function are preserved. Further, this diet prevents a number of pathologic indicators in males, including fibrosis, induction of β-myosin heavy chain, inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), and caspase-3 activation.

Authors

Brian L. Stauffer, John P. Konhilas, Elizabeth D. Luczak, Leslie A. Leinwand

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Figure 3

In vivo cardiac function assessed by echocardiography in HCM mice at 8 months of age.

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In vivo cardiac function assessed by echocardiography in HCM mice at 8 m...
(A) Decreased contractile function (% fractional shortening) is observed in male HCM mice consuming the soy diet. The impairment is ameliorated on the casein diet. (B) The functional impairment is associated with thinning of the anterior wall of the LV. These abnormalities are prevented by changing the animals to a phytoestrogen-free diet. n = 5–13 in each group. *P < 0.0001 versus male casein; †P < 0.05 versus female casein; #P < 0.05 versus same diet, alternate sex. Mean ± SEM.