Figure 1.

In vivo effects of very low density lipoproteins (VLDLs) on atrial remodeling of C57BL/6 male mice. Blood samples were collected from heathy volunteers and individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Normal-VLDL and MetS-VLDL were isolated respectively. The VLDLs were injected via tail vein of the mouse three times a week for 6 consecutive weeks. The electrocardiography shows intra-cardiac conduction delay with significantly prolonged P waves and PR intervals in the MetS group. Upon isoproterenol challenge, some mice of the MetS group had atrial fibrillation whereas other groups did not. The echocardiography shows dilatation of left atria in the MetS group. In histological studies, MetS group were found to have increased lipid accumulation and increased myocyte apoptosis when compared with the control and normal-VLDL group.