Statins are important lipid-lowering agents with other pleiotropic effects. Several studies have explored a possible protective effect of statins to reduce the morbidity and mortality of many infectious diseases. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main pathogens implicated in nosocomial infections; its ability to form biofilms makes treatment difficult. The present study observed the MIC of at...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study is to determine the adequate concentration and to evaluate the osteogenic potential of simvastatin in human maxillary sinus membrane-derived stem cells (hSMSC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Mesenchymal stem cells derived from the human maxillary sinus membrane were treated with various concentrations of simvastatin. The adequate concentration of simvastatin for...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Notch signaling activity regulates arteriogenesis. Presenilin 1 (PS1) mediates Notch signaling activity via cleavage of Notch, liberating Notch intracellular domain (NICD). We tested the hypothesis that simvastatin enhances arteriogenesis after stroke by increasing PS1 activation of the Notch signaling pathway. METHODS Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlu...

The effects of simvastatin treatment on Chlamydia pneumoniae lung infection, inflammation, and serum lipids in mouse model were studied. Simvastatin decreased viable chlamydial counts and increased inflammatory cell infiltrates in the lung tissue, suggesting that simvastatin treatment had both antichlamydial and immunomodulatory effects during an acute C. pneumoniae infection.

We previously reported that simvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, inhibits atherosclerosis in rats. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of simvastatin on mouse peritoneal macrophage foam cell formation, the early feature of atherosclerosis, and explore its mechanisms. The results showed that simvastatin decreased cholesterol content and DiI-oxLDL (1,1'-didodecyl 3...

Statins are 3-hydroxyl-3-methyglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors that are commonly used to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis. Emerging data have suggested that they also have "pleotropic effects," including modulating actin cytoskeleton reorganization. Here, we report an effect of simvastatin on the trafficking of aquaporin-2 (AQP2). Specifically, simvastatin induced the membrane accumulation of ...

Objectives: Simvastatin is a potent cholesterol lowering drug that may carry myalgia as a side effect. Whilst the underlying mechanism is unclear, statin therapy has been associated with impaired mitochondrial function. Two studies have differentiated between toxicity of simvastatin in its active acid and inactive lactone form, and found the inactive lactone form to be more toxic to myoblasts i...

BACKGROUND The migration of circulating monocytes to the arterial wall during atherogenesis is largely modulated by activation of the CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a dominant monocyte chemotaxis receptor. The present study investigated whether 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibition affects CCR2 gene expression and CCR2-dependent monocyte recruitment. METHODS AN...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Simvastatin is a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, which has been found to have a number of pleiotropic effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of simvastatin against selected oral streptococci as determined by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). METHODS Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus anginos...

Background. Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is the crucial antioxidant marker of high-density lipoproteins. The present study is aimed at assessing the effect of simvastatin treatment on PON1 activity and its relationship to Q192R and M55L polymorphisms in subjects with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods. The patient group was composed of 53 individuals with stable CAD, and the control group in...