Anti-inflammatory Mechanisms Beyond Cholesterol-Lowering Capabilities of Statins: Evidence from in vitro and in vivo Studies

Ali Nosrati Andevari; Durdi Qujeq

doi:10.18502/aptj.v5i3.20517

Ali Nosrati Andevari Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Afzalipour Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Durdi Qujeq Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aptj.v5i3.20517

Keywords: Statin, TG, HDL-C, Rho, Ras, NF-κB, AP-1, Anti-inflammatory.Statin, TG, HDL-C, Rho, Ras, NF-κB, AP-1, Anti-inflammatory.

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia is a major contributor to the risk of developing a range of severe health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), brain diseases, nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. The primary function of statins is to mitigate cholesterol content via suppressing 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA-R). This study aims to evaluate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms underlying the cholesterol-reducing capabilities of statins. The effects of statins beyond their cholesterol-lowering action are referred to as pleiotropic effects. Anti-inflammatory effects are among the pleiotropic roles of statins. These effects include lowering triglyceride (TG) concentrations, elevating high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and interleukin 10 (IL-10), and downregulating inflammatory markers. Part of the anti-inflammatory effects results from the suppression of the activity of the Rho and Ras protein families, thus inhibiting nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and activating protein-1 (AP-1). In recent years, the anti-inflammatory effects of atorvastatin, simvastatin, and rosuvastatin have been studied more extensively than those of other statins. In fact, these statins are more prominent.