ABSTRACT
Increasing clinical and experimental evidence indicates that some beneficial effects
of statins, known as efficient therapeutic agents in cardiovascular disease treatment,
may result from their ability to modulate vascular and endothelial cell gene expression
by mechanisms independent of cholesterol reduction. It has been shown that statins
exhibit direct anti-inflammatory properties via inhibition of proinflammatory cytokine
and chemokine secretion, as well as through adhesion molecule expression on leukocytes.
Another important mechanism by which statins may modulate the immune response is inhibition
of interferon γ-induced expression of class II major histocompatibility complexes.
Class II major histocompatibility complex expression is central to immune regulation
in T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, indicating a potential beneficial role of
statins in these pathologies. Indeed, promising new preclinical data indicate that
statins might be useful in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
KEYWORDS
Statins - inflammation - immunomodulation - autoimmune disease
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Francois MachM.D.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Foundation for
Medical Researches
64 Avenue Roseraie, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
