Simvastatin reduces interleukin-1β secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract

Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation may contribute to the increased risk of atherosclerosis in essential hypertension. Statins have been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. We studied whether individuals with essential hypertension have increased interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and whether treatment with simvastatin lowered IL-1β secretion by PBMCs. Methods: PBMCs were isolated by gradient centrifugation from 24 individuals with essential hypertension (EH) and 12 normotensive subjects. The IL-1β concentrations in the supernatant from PBMCs were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patients with EH were then randomized to treatment with valsartan 80 mg/day or matching group who took the same drug valsartan 80 mg/day plus simvastatin 40 mg/day for 1 week. IL-1β secretion by PBMCs was also measured. Results: Compared with controls, patients with EH had increased IL-1β [992±151 pg/ml, 912±102 pg/ml vs. 599±93 pg/ml; P<0.05] secretion by PBMCs after stimulated by angiotensin II. Simvastatin treatment had a significant effect of decreasing IL-1β [668±98 vs. 923±67 pg/ml; P<0.05] secretion in PBMCs. The reductions were not correlated to changes in plasma lipids. Conclusions: This study shows that EH is associated with increased PBMCs activation and that treatment with simvastatin may partly attenuate this abnormality.