Figure 3. The shift towards fatty acid oxidation to support increasing metabolic demand may inversely correlate with cardiac regenerative potential.

(A) After birth, the hearts of neonatal mice shift from utilizing glycolysis to fatty acid oxidation. (B) Animal metabolic needs increase both during mammalian postnatal development and during the evolution of endothermic mammals. (C) The shift to fatty acid metabolism and the increase in animal metabolic needs inversely correlate with the loss of heart regenerative capacity.