Novel Concepts in Cardiac Energy Metabolism: From Biology to Disease

Energy metabolism is a process that is central to cardiac health and disease. High turnover of ATP in the myocardium is required for efficient contractile function and ATP deficiency has been recognized as a hallmark of cardiac failure. ATP generation within the mitochondria involves oxidative decarboxylation of different nutrients including fatty acids, glucose, ketones, lactate and amino acids to generate reducing equivalents in the form of NADH and FADH2 which are fed into the electron transport chain. In the healthy adult heart, the majority of ATP is generated through the oxidation of fatty acids and a tight balance between the utilization of fatty acids and other energy substrates is maintained. Metabolic remodeling is characterized by the declining cardiac energy production resulting from progressive maladaptation in substrate use and mitochondrial biogenesis and function. In addition to ATP deficiency, metabolic remodeling also induces changes in cellular processes such as growth, redox homeostasis, and more recently autophagy. Maladaptive changes in nutrient uptake, oxidation and storage can lead to reduced energetic efficiency, ATP starvation, and ultimately cardiac dysfunction. Indeed, alterations in cardiac energy metabolism have been implicated in major cardiac diseases including cardiomyopathy associated with obesity and diabetes, hypertrophy, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure. Studies employing sophisticated animal models and techniques have also highlighted that changes in cardiac energy metabolism play a central role in these forms of heart disease and thus pharmacological targeting of cardiac energy metabolism has become an attractive treatment option. This Research Topic is dedicated to articles 1) highlighting the discovery of novel mechanisms that govern myocardial energy metabolism, 2) illustrating the role of cardiac metabolic pathways in health and disease, and 3) exploring translational avenues to target cardiac metabolism for the treatment of cardio-metabolic disorders. This collection of articles will advance our understanding on the complexities in cardiac metabolic network and will rationalize the utility of metabolic therapies during cardiovascular disease.

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must fall within the scope of the field of cardiac energy metabolism to enable acceptance of article for further review.