Simvastatin but not pravastatin reduces the hypertensive response to intracerebroventricularly infused angiotensin II

Abstract

Several lines of evidence suggest that beneficial effects of statins may depend in part on their interaction with angiotensin peptides. For example, recently we have found that simvastatin reduces the hypertensive response to intracerebroventricularly (icv) infused angiotensin II (Ang II) in rats. In the preset study, we checked whether orally given pravastatin affects the hypertensive response to icv infused Ang II in the same manner as does simvastatin. We maintained Sprague Dawley rats on either tap water (control) or water containing simvastatin or pravastatin for four weeks. Subsequently, we measured arterial blood pressure and heart rate at baseline and after icv infusions of Ang II. We found no significant difference between the groups in mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and heart rate at baseline. ICV infusion of 10 ng of Ang II caused a significant increase in MABP in all the groups. Rats treated with simvastatin showed significantly smaller hypertensive responses to icv Ang II than controls and pravastatin treated rats. In conclusion, the study shows that simvastatin but not pravastatin affects the hypertensive response to icv infused Ang II. These may be caused by differences in penetration through the blood‐brain barrier between the statins and their metabolites. The study was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Iuventus plus grant.