Statins attenuate high mobility group box-1 protein induced vascular endothelial activation : a key role for TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.
High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) has recently been implicated as a proinflammatory cytokine that plays critical roles in endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Atorvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, exerts anti-inflammatory effects in the cardiovascular system beyond its cholesterol-lowering property. The aim of our study was to investigate whether atorvastatin inhibits HMGB1-induced vascular endothelial activation, and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism. In this study, we found that atorvastatin, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 μM, effectively and in a dose-dependent manner inhibited HMGB1-induced endothelial cells (ECs) activation. Incubation of ECs with 10 μM atorvastatin reduced adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and E-selectin) expression concomitant with a significant inhibition in HMGB1-stimulated leukocyte-endothelial adhesion. Further experiments showed that atorvastatin markedly suppressed HMGB1-induced Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression, Nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) nuclear translocation and DNA binding activity in ECs. Similar effects were also observed in ECs pretreated with the TLR4- specific inhibitor CLI-095, suggesting an important role of TLR4/NF-κB pathway. These findings indicate that atorvastatin attenuates HMGB1-induced vascular endothelial activation. The underlying mechanism involves, at least in part, inhibition of TLR4/NF-κB-dependent signaling pathway, which provied the new evidence for therapeutic application of statins to target inflammatory processes in cardiovascular disease.
Yang
Jun
J
Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei Province, China.
Huang
Congxin
C
Yang
Jian
J
Jiang
Hong
H
Ding
Jiawang
J
D000818:Animals; D000069059:Atorvastatin; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D024243:HMGB1 Protein / Q000502:physiology*; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000378:metabolism*
D024243:HMGB1 Protein; D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011758:Pyrroles; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; D000069059:Atorvastatin