title: Statins' immunomodulatory potential against Th17 cell-mediated autoimmune response.
abstract: Statins' recently discovered anti-inflammatory effects place them at the forefront of the new therapies for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Our recent study demonstrated that simvastatin exerts an independent immunomodulatory effect on the human monocytes and CD4+ cells. In addition to the statin-mediated effect on the monocyte cytokine production, which regulates Th17 cell differentiation, simvastatin directly inhibits IL-17 production in CD4+ cells, which may collectively inhibit the autoimmune response in multiple sclerosis (MS), a central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory demyelinating disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 6109 Neuroscience Research Building, 103 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Silva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Markovic-Plese
mesh_terms: D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D020381:Interleukin-17; D019821:Simvastatin