Mohammed Mimouni's thesis defense

Presented by Mohammed MIMOUNI

September 27, 2024

Under the direction of Caroline DESMETZ

Mechanisms involved in the prevention of cardiac fibrosis by a salt-depleted diet during metabolic syndrome.

Summary:

Metabolic syndrome, promoted by fructose overconsumption, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, notably via cardiac fibrosis and diastolic dysfunction. Our work shows that a salt-depleted diet reduces these effects, not only by lowering blood pressure, but also by complementary mechanisms.

To further explore this theme, our research explores two mechanisms of this protective effect:
- Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (endMT) and cardiac fibrosis: We have shown that sodium restriction reduces endMT by 37% in the rat heart, and identified, for the first time, an extracellular matrix protein involved in this process, whose invalidation inhibits endMT.
- Role of the gut microbiota: The de-sodized diet significantly alters microbial composition, identifying 21 species with potential cardioprotective roles.

This work demonstrates the value of a salt-depleted diet in preventing cardiac lesions during metabolic syndrome, and opens up new diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives for this pathology.