%0 Journal Article
%T Synergic effect of Eicosapentaenoic acid and Lovastatin on gene expression of HMGCoA reductase and LDL receptor in cultured HepG2 cells
%A Maria Notarnicola
%A Caterina Messa
%A Maria G Refolo
%A Valeria Tutino
%A Angelica Miccolis
%A Maria G Caruso
%J Lipids in Health and Disease
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1476-511x-9-135
%X The combined treatment with EPA and lovastatin enhanced the regulatory effect on gene expression of HMGCoA reductase and LDL receptor in HepG2 cell line. Moreover, we detected a synergistic effect on the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation obtained by combination of EPA and Lovastatin.The use of EPA, in combination with low doses of Lovastatin may have potential value in treatment of neoplastic diseases.Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), named for the position of their terminal double bond, the n-6 and n-3 long-chain PUFAs, are part of the phospholipid structure of all membranes and play additional roles as signaling molecules and modulators of gene expression [1-3]. Long-chain PUFAs may be directly consumed in the diet or synthesized from their essential fatty acid precursors, linoleic acid (LA) and ¦Á-linolenic acid (LNA) [4].Clinical studies from cardiovascular medicine, psychiatry and other disciplines have demonstrated correlations between low n-3 PUFA levels and increased disease risk [5,6] and have shown that increasing n-3 levels by diet or supplementation may confer a variety of health benefits [1,7,8]. A major effect of n-3 PUFA is to lower plasma triacylglycerols and lipoprotrein concentrations, in normal as well as hypertriglyceridaemic subjects [9].PUFAs are potent inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, an enzyme catalyzing the conversion of HMGCoA to mevalonate, the rate limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. PUFAs mediate many, if not all, actions of statins [10] and this could be one mechanism by which they lower cholesterol levels.Statins represent a class of drugs that are widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia for their ability to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis and to up-regulate the synthesis of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) receptors in the liver [11].Statins having biochemical effects on cholesterol synthesis, are considered as potential anti-tumor agents [12], inhibiting tumor cell gro
%U http://www.lipidworld.com/content/9/1/135