%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of statins on the secretion of human serum albumin in cultured HepG2 cells
%A Chung-Eun Ha
%A Ji-Sook Ha
%A Andre G Theriault
%A Nadhipuram V Bhagavan
%J Journal of Biomedical Science
%D 2009
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1423-0127-16-32
%X Statins are one of the most widely prescribed medications to patients in the high-risk group of developing CVDs to lower total serum and LDL cholesterol levels. Statins inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase in the cholesterol biosynthesis, thereby lowering serum LDL cholesterol production, up-regulating the synthesis of LDL receptors in the liver, and in turn resulting in decreased levels of circulating total cholesterols[1]. In addition to their major effects on serum LDL cholesterol, recent studies have shown that statins also exert wide variety of other effects on cellular metabolism. These other effects of statins, known as pleiotropic effects include modulation of gene expression, reduction of endothelial dysfunction, inhibition of inflammatory reactions, antioxidant effects, inhibition of smooth muscle proliferation, and induction of apoptosis [2-9]. These findings suggest that the overall cardioprotective effects of statin treatments resulted not only from the decreased serum LDL cholesterol level but also from statins' potential pleiotropic effects. In fact, several studies have suggested that statins' pleiotropic effects may provide greater protection against pathogenesis of CVDs than their cholesterol lowering effects do [10,11].Human serum albumin (HSA) is the principal carrier of unesterified free fatty acids in serum and its major functions include maintaining osmotic pressure, transporting endogenous and exogenous ligands. Many epidemiological studies have shown that high plasma levels of HSA are also associated with reduced risks for CVD [12-19]. Our previous study has shown that HSA participates in the cholesterol efflux from cultured endothelial cells and due to its high concentration (40 g/L) in plasma, HSA may contribute significantly to cholesterol efflux together with HDL mediated cholesterol efflux [20]. Other contribution of HSA's anti-atherogenic effects might be due to its anti-oxidant properties. HSA serves as an
%U http://www.jbiomedsci.com/content/16/1/32