Summary
Hyperlipidaemia is a causal factor in the ethiopathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Statins
are the cornerstone drug therapy for LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) lowering, that exert
beneficial effects beyond lipid lowering. Circulating microparticles (cMPs), microvesicles
released by activated cells into the bloodstream, are markers of vascular and inflammatory
cell activation with tentative role in disease progression. However, the role of statins
on cMPs seems controversial. We aimed at the evaluation of the effects of lipid-lowering
treatment (LLT) on cMP generation in patients in primary prevention of atherosclerosis.
A case-control study was conducted in hypercholesterolaemic patients receiving LLT
with statins and normocholesterolaemic controls (LLT+ and LLT−, respectively, n=37/group), matched by age, gender and LDL-c levels. cMPs were characterised
by flow cytometry using annexin-V and cellspecific antibodies. In LLT+-patients overall numbers of cMPs (p<0.005) were lower than in controls. Levels of
cMPs carrying parental cell markers from vascular and circulating cell origin (platelet,
endothelial cell, pan-leukocyte and specific-leukocyte subsets) were significantly
lower in blood of LLT+ compared to LLT−-patients. Moreover, MPs from LLT+-patients had reduced markers of activated platelets (αIIbβ3-integrin), activated inflammatory cells (αM-integrin) and tissue factor. The effect of LLT on cMP shedding was found to be accumulative
in years. cMP shedding associated to cardiovascular risk in LLT+-patients. In summary, at similar plasma cholesterol levels patients on statin treatment
had a significant lower number of cMPs carrying markers of activated cells. These
findings indicate that statins protect against vascular cell activation.
Keywords
Atherosclerosis - circulating microparticles - inflammation - statins - thrombosis