An Inducible Transgenic Mice Model of Cardiac Steatosis; Validation of Model and MRS Acquisition Protocol

Edvin Johansson¹, Johan Jirholt², Katja Madeyski-Bengtson², Paul D. Hockings¹

A transgenic mice model of cardiomyocyte-specific acyl CoA synthase overexpression, inducible in mature mice and believed to cause myocardial steatosis was investigated. in vivo triglyceride quantification was performed via MRS and validated against analytical chemistry. The agreement between the two techniques was good, and both techniques demonstrated increased myocardial triglyceride levels in ACS overexpressing mice when compared to unmodified mice. The ejection fraction was markedly reduced in ACS overexpressing mice, but this finding requires further investigations in order to rule out factors associated with the transgenic modification, but not directly related to the accumulation of myocardial triglycerides.