title: [Effects of pravastatin on the expression of endothelin induced by aldosterone in rat cardiac fibroblasts].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of pravastatin on endothelin(ET) expression induced by aldosterone in cultured neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts.
  
  
  METHODS
  ET concentration in conditioned medium was measured by radioimmunoassay, intracellular ET-1 level was evaluated by flow cytometry, and the expression of preproendothelin-1 (ppET-1) was detected and quantified using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cardiac fibroblasts, treated with aldosterone at 107 mol/L, significantly up-regulated ppET-1 mRNA expression, as well as ET-1 synthesis and release. Pravastatin (10(-5), 10(-4), 10(-3) mol/L) dose-dependently blocked these effects. In contrast, pravastatin-induced inhibitory effects were reversed in the presence of mevalonate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pravastatin down-regulated ppET-1 mRNA expression, as well as ET-1 synthesis and release induced by aldosterone in a process specifically related to mevalonate in cardiac fibroblasts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050000, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Zhou
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Shu-Qin
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing-Chao
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016232:Endothelins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D032386:Myoblasts, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D016232:Endothelins; D000450:Aldosterone; D017035:Pravastatin