Abstract
BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. However, recent research shows that moderate obesity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. We evidenced before that MAO-B inhibitor selegiline reduced visceral adiposity. AIM: Therefore, our aim was to investigate cardiac effects of selegiline in moderate obesity in rats treated with a high-fat diet (HFD). KEY FINDINGS: We demonstrated that HFD improved cardiac contractility parameters, which were reversed by selegiline. Enhanced contractility might be attributed to an increased sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA2a) expression and phospholamban pentamerization. Selegiline reduced SERCA2a expression in HFD. HFD increased Tumor necrosis factor and Nuclear factor-kappa B expression which were not affected by selegiline. HFD induced proapoptotic processes, which were restored by selegiline. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, moderate obesity improves cardiac function through Ca(2+) homeostasis and inflammatory processes and MAO-B inhibition reverses these effects.