The Impact Of Simvastatin On Apolipoprotein E-deficient Mice, Adiponectin And Endothelial Function

Objective: To investigate the effects of simvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A(HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, on adiponectin and markers ofendothelia l function in apolipoprotein E -deficient mice at an early stage ofatherosclerosis.Methods : Twenty-four 6-week old ma le apoE-deficient mice were randomly dividedinto two groups: control group (normal saline) and treatment group (simvasta tin (5mg/(kg·d)). Simvastatin was administered to treatment group mice by gavage and thesame volume of norma l saline was administered to control group mice by the samemethod for 4 weeks. Total cholesterol (TC), superoxide dismutase (SOD),ma lond ia ldehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured by biochemica lanalysis, and adiponectin was measured by an ABC-ELISA method, Endotheliumtissue was observed by HE dyeing.Results : There was no significa nt difference in serum TC between control andtreatment groups. Compared with the control anima ls, simvastatin-treated anima lsexhibited a significa nt increase in serum levels of adponectin, SOD and NO, anddecrease in serum MDA (P<0.01); More dama ged endothelium was discovered incontrol group tha n simvastatin treatment group(33.33%vs control's :75.00%, P <0.05).Conclusions: Simvastatin protects endothelia l function by increasing serumadiponectin, which ma y increase serum SOD and NO, and decrease serum MDA.This study suggests that simvastatin has therapeutic advantages, unrelated to itscholesterol-lowering effect, that are med iated by adiponectin.