Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2003;23:729-736
Published online before print February 27, 2003, doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000063385.12476.A7
Published online before print February 27, 2003, doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000063385.12476.A7
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.
ATVB In Focus |
Endothelium-Dependent Effects of Statins
From the Vascular Medicine Research, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
Correspondence to James K. Liao, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, 65 Landsdowne Street, Room 275, Cambridge, MA 02139. E-mail jliao{at}rics.bwh.harvard.edu
The vascular endothelium is a dynamic endocrine organ that regulates contractile, secretory, and mitogenic activities in the vessel wall and hemostatic processes within the vascular lumen. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as cigarette smoking, hypertension, and elevated serum lipid levels, impair endothelial function and lead to the development of atherosclerotic vessels. Recent studies suggest that statins reduce cardiovascular events in part by improving endothelial function. Statins reduce plasma cholesterol levels, thereby decreasing the uptake of modified lipoproteins by vascular wall cells. There is increasing evidence, however, that statins may also exert effects beyond cholesterol lowering. Indeed, many of these cholesterol-independent or "pleiotropic" vascular effects of statins appear to involve restoring or improving endothelial function through increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide, promoting re-endothelialization, reducing oxidative stress, and inhibiting inflammatory responses. Thus, the endothelium-dependent effects of statins are thought to contribute to many of the beneficial effects of statin therapy in cardiovascular disease.
Key Words: 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor • endothelium • atherosclerosis • cholesterol • protein kinase Akt
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