Abstract
Statins are competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-A) reductase, and studies have shown that statins also have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-asthmatic effects of pitavastatin, a type of statin, in an asthma mouse model. Mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) to establish the asthma model. These mice were then treated with inhaled pitavastatin (5 mg/kg) or dexamethasone (2 mg/kg), the latter of which served as a positive control. The results of the study showed that pitavastatin reduced allergen-induced increases in airway resistance and alleviated bronchial tube thickness and goblet cell hyperplasia in lung tissues. In addition, the results showed that pitavastatin inhibited OVA-induced increases in eosinophil counts and total inflammatory cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and increased the percentage of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg in the BALF of asthmatic mice. IL-4 and IL-17 levels were decreased, whereas IFN-γ levels were significantly increased in the BALF of pitavastatin-treated mice compared with the BALF of OVA-challenged mice. These results suggest that pitavastatin has potential as a therapy for allergic airway disease and that its effects are associated with its ability to regulate CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ T cell counts.
Highlights
Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airway and is a leading cause of morbidity among children and adults worldwide[1, 2]
We assessed the changes in CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ cell counts and interleukin (IL-4 and IFN-γ) secretion in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) elicited by pitavastatin treatment
These results indicated that pitavastatin reduces several airway hyper-reactivity (AHR) parameters
Summary
Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airway and is a leading cause of morbidity among children and adults worldwide[1, 2]. Clinical trials have shown that short-term treatment with statins increases lung function, enhances the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids in patients with asthma, and improves the results of the Asthma Control Questionnaire and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire[12,13,14]. These studies have shown that statins improve outcomes in patients with asthma who are receiving inhaled corticosteroid therapy and exert multiple beneficial effects in such patients through their pleiotropic anti-inflammatory properties[15, 16]. The findings of the study may open new avenues for the treatment of asthma-related airway inflammation and the development of improved asthma drug formulations
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