Heart Histopathology and Mitochondrial Ultrastructure in Aged Rats Fed for 24 Months on Different Unsaturated Fats (Virgin Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil or Fish Oil) and Affected by Different Longevity Navarro Hortal, María Dolores Ramírez Tortosa, César Luis Varela López, Alfonso Romero Márquez, José Manuel Ochoa Herrera, Julio José Ramírez Tortosa, María Carmen Forbes Hernández, Tamara Yuliett Granados Principal, Sergio Battino, Maurizio Quiles Morales, José Luis Aging Histology Mitochondrial morphology Inflammation Fibrosis Diet plays a decisive role in heart physiology, with lipids having especial importance in pathology prevention and development. This study aimed to investigate how dietary lipids varying in lipid profile (virgin olive oil, sunflower oil or fish oil) affected the heart of rats during aging. Heart histopathology, mitochondrial morphometry, and oxidative status were assessed. Typical histopathological features associated with aging, such as valvular lesions, endomyocardical hyperplasia, or papillary muscle calcification, were found at a low extent in all the experimental groups. The most relevant finding was that inflammation registered by fish oil group was lower compared to the other treatments. At the ultrastructural level, heart mitochondrial area, perimeter, and aspect ratio were higher in fish oil-fed rats than in those fed on sunflower oil. Concerning oxidative stress markers, there were differences only in coenzyme Q levels and catalase activity, lower in sunflower oil-fed animals compared with those fed on fish oil. In summary, dietary intake for a long period on dietary fats with different fatty acids profile led to differences in some aspects associated with the aging process at the heart. Fish oil seems to be the fat most protective of heart during aging. 2020-01-24T09:59:06Z 2020-01-24T09:59:06Z 2019-10-07 journal article Navarro-Hortal, M. D., Ramírez-Tortosa, C. L., Varela-López, A., Romero-Márquez, J. M., Ochoa, J. J., Ramírez-Tortosa, M., ... & Quiles, J. L. (2019). Heart Histopathology and Mitochondrial Ultrastructure in Aged Rats Fed for 24 Months on Different Unsaturated Fats (Virgin Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil or Fish Oil) and Affected by Different Longevity. Nutrients, 11(10), 2390. http://hdl.handle.net/10481/59114 10.3390/nu11102390 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ open access Atribución 3.0 España MDPI