title: Simvastatin reduces serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor in hypercholesterolemic patients.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor plays a pivotal role in the progression of atherosclerotic lesions and causes instability of atherosclerotic plaques by inducing neoangiogenesis inside the current plaque. The pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL-) 6 induces vascular endothelial growth factor in smooth muscle cells (SMC). HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), display beside their lipid-lowering potency various pleiotropic effects. Such pleiotropic effects include improvement of endothelial dysfunction, increased nitric oxide bioavailability, antioxidant properties, inhibition of inflammatory responses, and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. In this study we investigate the influence of statin treatment on the serum levels of VEGF in hypercholesterolemic patients. One hundred and seven hypercholesterolemic patients were treated with 20 (n = 52) or 40 mg (n = 55) simvastatin daily. Six weeks of treatment resulted in a significant decrease of VEGF from 1017.1 +/- 297.8 pg/mL at baseline to 543.5 +/- 317.4 pg/mL after 6 weeks (-47.7%) and to 211.8 +/- 155.3 pg/mL after 6 months (-79.7%; all P < 0.001). IL-6 induced the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in human SMC as analyzed by rt-PCR and flow cytometry. Statins decreased the stimulatory effect of IL-6 on mRNA and protein levels. This effect could be inhibited by co-incubation with mevalonate acid. This study contributes in understanding the pleiotropic effects of statins particularly with regard to their use in treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Internal Medicine II, Department of Angiology, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Aura G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Giurgea
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Margeta
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maca
authors.forename: Abdolreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rezaie-Majd
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bucek
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manavi
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Afarideh
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Minar
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baghestanian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018925:Chemokines / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008055:Lipids; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019821:Simvastatin; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors