Andreas Mæchel Fritzen

Project title

Cardiovascular and metabolic effects of medium-chain fatty acids in heart failure

What is your project about?

Up to 100,000 Danes are affected by the life-threatening condition, heart failure. The failing heart has reduced ability to burn fat and relies on so-called ketone bodies. Infusion of ketone bodies can improve heart function in heart failure patients. In pilot studies, we observed that the intake of medium-chain fatty acids, present in coconut oil and to a lesser extent in milk, naturally increases the blood's ketone body level. I also hypothesize these fatty acids are an optimal fat source for the heart and can prompt the liver to release positive signaling molecules. Therefore, our project aims to investigate whether the intake of these fatty acids improves heart function in heart failure patients. We will analyze the underlying mechanisms using advanced omics analysis on patient blood and transgenic animal models. This research may lead to new treatments for heart failure.

How did you become interested in your particular field of research?

My interest in delving into more knowledge about fat metabolism began when I was a young student. Research into fat metabolism has received far less attention than carbohydrate metabolism. Dysregulated fat metabolism plays a role in many lifestyle diseases, making it a vital study in optimizing disease prevention and treatment. In my mentor's research group, we have studied the significance of dietary fat for metabolic health. We were able to show that dietary fat is not as detrimental as assumed – and observed that all fats are not the same. Some fat even seems to be particularly healthy. This piqued my interest in medium-chain fatty acids, which we know little about, but in pilot studies, showed incredibly exciting effects on the body's metabolism. This sparked the idea that they could be beneficial for the failing heart.

What are the scientific challenges and perspectives in your project?

My research project is incredibly interdisciplinary, ranging from clinical trials in heart failure patients to mechanistic experiments in transgenic mouse models, and the use of sophisticated molecular biological techniques. Integrating and coalescing these different experiments and analyses while ensuring translational insight from molecular understanding to clinical implication is a crucial ambition. It will be essential, for example, to ensure that the heart failure model in mice reflects the patients' disease. Recruiting an adequate number of patients willing to participate in invasive trial days will also be a challenge. However, it's an interesting perspective of the project that we potentially can bridge new molecular physiological knowledge with an impact on clinical practice.

What is your estimate of the impact, which your project may have to society in the long term?

This specific project will help us understand whether the intake of medium-chain fatty acids can be used in the prevention and treatment of heart failure. Additionally, we will gain nutritional knowledge that can influence dietary recommendations and form the basis for enriching foods with these fatty acids – an approach we are already investigating in complementary research projects. Finally, we will gain basic scientific insights into the biology of these specific fatty acids – how they are absorbed and metabolized in the body, and which physiological and molecular mechanisms are involved. This knowledge could potentially identify new signaling molecules and pathways in the body, which can be pharmacologically exploited in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Which impact do you expect the Sapere Aude programme will have on your career as a researcher?

Participating in the Sapere Aude program will provide a unique opportunity to clarify a scientific question with the potential to improve the treatment of a widespread, life-threatening disease. The funding is also vital in supporting the consolidation of my burgeoning research group and helping me recruit complementary expertise, enabling translational research in fat metabolism from the basic scientific, molecular level with sophisticated molecular biological methodologies and transgenic mouse models to clinical implication with invasive, experimental trials in patients. Finally, the project will establish a unique international research network and bring together competencies from cardiology, physiology, and cell biology. Altogether, this will create a unique foundation to develop into a strong, independent research leader and be competitive in extending this important research field.

Background and personal life

I have two children, Lukas and Bertil aged 5 and 2, with my beautiful wife, Ida. Therefore, my spare time is mainly focused on trying to be a good father and partner - and going on adventures with my family in nature or at playgrounds in the city. I also strive to be an inspiring badminton coach for the boys and find time for play and fun amidst mounting piles of laundry, cleaning, and cooking. I also play the guitar in a band, where the dream of Pink Floyd-inspired solos for cheering fans at national stadiums has long disappeared and been replaced by lowbrow cover versions of 80s hits at weddings. Finally, I also try to find time to do some running when the kids are asleep, even though I am in worrying danger of becoming the researcher in the health effects of physical activity and optimal diet who doesn't manage to "practice what I preach."