Chronically Elevating Circulating Ketones Can Reduce Cardiac Inflammation and Blunt the Development of Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown beneficial effects of acute infusion of the primary ketone body, β-hydroxybutyrate, in heart failure (HF). However, whether chronic elevations in circulating ketones are beneficial remains unknown. METHODS: To chronically elevate circulating ketones in mice, we deleted the expression of the ketolytic, rate-limiting-enzyme, SCOT (succinyl-CoA:3-ketoacid-CoA transferase 1; encoded by Oxct1), in skeletal …