Effect Of Atorvastatin On The Expression Of E-selectin And Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 In Cultured Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) Activated By Tumor Necrosis Factor α

Objective: To observe the influence of atorvastatin (ATV), a kind of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins), at different concentrations on the expression of E-selectin (E-sel) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) activated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Method: After 24h coincubation of 40ng/ml TNF-α, 0.005 - 10umol/L ATV and cultured HUVEC, the total RNA were extracted from the HUVEC, then the mRNA of E-selectin and ICAM-1 measured were analyzed by RT-PCR. Results: ATV has a concentration – dependent effect on the mRNA expression of E-selection and ICAM-1. With the increasing of ATV, the mRNA expression of E-selectin was enhanced; meanwhile the mRNA expression of ICAM-1 were inhibited at low concentrations (0.005 to 0.05umol/L) of ATV, but were enhanced at high concentrations (0.05 to 10umol/L). Conclusion: ATV has concentrtion-dependent effects on the mRNA levels of adhesion molecules in cultured HUVEC induced by TNF-α, and the effects are different between the different adhesion molecules at different concentrations.