Liver X receptor a (LXRa) is an endogenous protective receptor against ischemic heart diseases. However, whether LXRa regulated glucose metabolism in ischemic heart diseases has not been investigated. In this study we investigated the involvement of LXRa on glucose metabolism in cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). MI was induced in mice by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LCA). Genetic LXRa. deletion significantly worsened cardiac remodeling and impaired cardiac function at 4 weeks after MI. Cardiac 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake by positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrated that the FDG standardized uptake value (SUV) was significantly lower in LXRa (-/-) mice as compared to WT mice. Mechanistically, GLUT1/4 and AMPK phosphorylation were significantly down regulated while CD36 expression was markedly upregulated in LXRa-/- mice. This study demonstrated that deficiency of LXR alpha decreased glucose uptake after MI, resulting in a metabolic shift that suppressed glucose metabolism, which was in association with adverse cardiac remodeling. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.