The energy need of cardiac muscle cells in vivo is largely covered by the oxidation of
saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids (FA). However, in vitro studies have shown that
the saturated FA C16: 0 at physiological concentrations exerts detrimental effects on primary
cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes by, as yet, unknown mechanisms. To evaluate
the noxious effects of FA in more detail, neonatal cardiomyocytes were exposed to saturated
(C16: 0; C18: 0) or mono-unsaturated (C16: 1; cis-C18: 1; trans-C18: 1) FA, or combinations …