Cottart C, Nivet-Antoine V. High-protein-low-carbohydrate diet: deleterious metabolic and cardiovascular effects depend on age. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 307: H649 -H657, 2014. First published July 11, 2014; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00291.2014.-High-protein-lowcarbohydrate (HP-LC) diets have become widespread. Yet their deleterious consequences, especially on glucose metabolism and arteries, have already been underlined. Our previous study (2) has already shown glucose intolerance with major arterial dysfunction in very old mice subjected to an HP-LC diet. The hypothesis of this work was that this diet had an age-dependent deleterious metabolic and cardiovascular outcome. Two groups of mice, young and adult (3 and 6 mo old), were subjected for 12 wk to a standard or to an HP-LC diet. Glucose and lipid metabolism was studied. The cardiovascular system was explored from the functional stage with Doppler-echography to the molecular stage (arterial reactivity, mRNA, immunohistochemistry). Young mice did not exhibit any significant metabolic modification, whereas adult mice presented marked glucose intolerance associated with an increase in resistin and triglyceride levels. These metabolic disturbances were responsible for cardiovascular damages only in adult mice, with decreased aortic distensibility and left ventricle dysfunction. These seemed to be the consequence of arterial dysfunctions. Mesenteric arteries were the worst affected with a major oxidative stress, whereas aorta function seemed to be maintained with an appreciable role of cyclooxygenase-2 to preserve endothelial function. This study highlights for the first time the age-dependent deleterious effects of an HP-LC diet on metabolism, with glucose intolerance and lipid disorders and vascular (especially microvessels) and cardiac functions. This work shows that HP-LC lead to equivalent cardiovascular alterations, as observed in very old age, and underlines the danger of such diet. cardiovascular disease; glucose intolerance; high-protein-low-carbohydrate diet CHANGE IN WESTERN lifestyle, with an increasingly fat-rich diet and decreased physical activity, has led to increased overweight and obesity prevalence. Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome have now become endemic (40), leading to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (3). This trend does not concern only mature adults, but also teenagers and young adults, in whom the prevalence of diabetes and being overweight has been increasing (29). Some nutritional strategies have become more and more prevalent, such as highprotein-low-carbohydrate (HP-LC) diets (8). However, their deleterious outcomes on glucose metabolism and arteries have already been underlined (7, 12). Aortas as well as microvessels such as mesenteric arteries are altered with aging. Oxidative stress is one of the most important factors implied in these alterations. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) producers, such as NADPH oxidase, seem to be implied, leading to the vascular inflammation (30,35). Moreover, the deficiency of...