Attenuation of airway inflammation by simvastatin and the implications for asthma treatment: is the jury still out?

This study not only evaluated the therapeutic potential and inhibitory mechanism of simvastatin in an ovalbumin (OVA)-specific asthma model in mice but also sought to clarify the future directions indicated by previous studies through a thorough review of the literature. BALB/c mice were sensitized to OVA and then administered three OVA challenges. On each challenge day, 40 mg kg(-1) simvastatin was injected before the challenge. The airway responsiveness, inflammatory cell composition, and cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were assessed after the final challenge, and the T cell composition and adhesion molecule expression in lung homogenates were determined. The administration of simvastatin decreased the airway responsiveness, the number of airway inflammatory cells, and the interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13 concentrations in BAL fluid compared with vehicle-treated mice (P<0.05). Histologically, the number of inflammatory cells and mucus-containing goblet cells in lung tissues also decreased in the simvastatin-treated mice. Flow cytometry showed that simvastatin treatment significantly reduced the percentage of pulmonary CD4(+) cells and the CD4(+)/CD8(+) T-cell ratio (P<0.05). Simvastatin treatment also decreased the expression of the vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 proteins, as measured in homogenized lung tissues (P<0.05) and human epithelial cells. The reduction in the T cell influx as a result of...
Source: exp Mol Med - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Exp Mol Med Source Type: research