Autotaxin/lysophosphatidic acid signaling mediates obesity‐related cardiomyopathy in mice and human subjects

Obesity is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but the direct signals to initiate or exaggerate cardiomyopathy remain largely unknown. Present study aims to explore the pathophysiological role of autotaxin/lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) in the process of cardiomyopathy during obesity. Through utilizing mouse model and clinical samples, present study investigates the therapeutic benefits of autotaxin inhibitor and clinical correlation to obesity‐related cardiomyopathy. The elevated circulating levels of autotaxin are closely associated with cardiac parameters in mice. Administration with autotaxin inhibitor, PF‐8380 effectively attenuates high fat diet‐induced cardiac hypertrophy, dysfunction and inflammatory response. Consistently, autotaxin inhibition also decreases circulating LPA levels in obese mice. In in vitro study, LPA directly initiates cell size enlargement and inflammation in neonatal cardiomyocytes. More importantly, circulating levels of autotaxin are positively correlated with cardiac dysfunction and hypertrophy in 55 patients. In conclusion, present study uncovers the correlation between circulating autotaxin and cardiac parameters in mice and human patient, and provided solid evidence of the therapeutic application of autotaxin inhibitor in combating obesity‐related cardiomyopathy.