title: Repair of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice by endothelial progenitor cells, alone and in combination with simvastatin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are involved in endothelium repair of acute lung injury (ALI). Numerous studies have demonstrated that statins can promote EPC function in vitro and in vivo; therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether simvastatin enhances the function of EPCs participating in the repair of ALI.
  
  
  METHODS
  BALB/C mice were initially pretreated with simvastatin by intraperitoneal administration 24 h before, and again at the time of, intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and subsequently treated with EPCs by i.v. transplantation 2 h later. The effects of capillary permeability, endothelium repair, and inflammatory cytokines were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study revealed that both simvastatin administration and EPC transplantation can reduce the severity of LPS-induced ALI in mice, and the effect can be further improved by combining the two therapies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The administration of simvastatin and EPC transplantation can reduce the severity of LPS-induced ALI in mice, and improvement is moderately enhanced in some respects when EPC transplantation is combined with simvastatin administration. The beneficial role of simvastatin on EPCs may be a component of its pleiotropic effects. Although the exact mechanism remains unknown, the combined administration of simvastatin and EPC transplantation may be a potentially important, cell-based, inflammation-mediated therapy for patients with ALI/ARDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Gaoming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical Medicine School of Nanjing University, Nanjing. Electronic address: wuhaiweicts@163.com.
authors.forename: Haiwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C082161:lipopolysaccharide A; D019821:Simvastatin