Abstract
We report that dietary modification from a soy-based diet to a casein-based diet radically improves disease indicators and cardiac function in a transgenic mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. On a soy diet, males with a mutation in the α-myosin heavy chain gene progress to dilation and heart failure. However, males fed a casein diet no longer deteriorate to severe, dilated cardiomyopathy. Remarkably, their LV size and contractile function are preserved. Further, this diet prevents a number of pathologic indicators in males, including fibrosis, induction of β-myosin heavy chain, inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), and caspase-3 activation.
Authors
Brian L. Stauffer, John P. Konhilas, Elizabeth D. Luczak, Leslie A. Leinwand
Figure 6
Increased caspase-3 activity is indicative of increased myocellular apoptosis and may be a mechanism contributing to cardiac dilatation in male HCM mice consuming the soy diet.
Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)