Atorvastatin inhibits cholesterol-induced caspase-3 cleavage through down-regulation of p38 and up-regulation of Bcl-2 in the rat carotid artery.

Abstract

AIM:

Atherosclerotic lesions in the carotid arteries lead to a broad range of cerebrovascular disorders such as vascular dementia and ischaemic stroke. Recent studies have verified the beneficial role of atorvastatin (AV) in atherosclerosis. Despite a large body of studies, the mechanisms underlying this effect have not been completely explained. In this study, several experiments were performed on atherosclerotic rat models to investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effect of AV in the carotid artery.

METHODS:

In this experimental study, 40 male Wistar rats (250 ± 25 g) were randomly divided into four groups: rats on a normal diet (ND; n = 10); a high-cholesterol diet (HD; n = 10); a high-cholesterol diet plus AV (HD + AV; n = 10) ; and the AV control group (AV; n = 10). Cleavage of caspase-3 protein, expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) as well as phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) were determined by immunoblotting assay in the carotid artery homogenate. Plasma atherogenic indices, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by colorimetric assay at the end of the experiment. Plasma levels of oxidised LDL (oxLDL) were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS:

After eight weeks of feeding with a high-cholesterol diet, an elevated level of oxLDL was observed in the plasma in the HD group compared with the ND group [214.42 ± 17.46 vs 69.13 ± 9.92 mg/dl (5.55 ± 0.45 vs 1.78 ± 0.26 mmol/l); p < 0.01]. AV administration significantly reduced oxLDL levels in the HD + AV compared to the HD group [126.52 ± 9.46 vs 214.42 ± 17.46 mg/dl (3.28 ± 0.25 vs 5.55 ± 0.45 mmol/l); p < 0.01]. Results also showed that compared with the HC group, the HC + AV group had lower levels of p38 phosphorylation (p < 0.05) and higher levels of Bcl-2 expression (p < 0.05). Lower levels of cleaved caspase-3 were observed in the HC + AV group in comparison with the HC group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

The resultant data suggest that the anti-apoptotic effect of AV could be partially mediated by the pro-inflammatory protein p38 MAPK and the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in the rat carotid artery. Atorvastatin can therefore be considered a target drug in the prevention or development of atherosclerotic events.

• Authors: Roshanak Bayatmakoo, Nadereh Rashtchizadeh, Parichehreh Yaghmaei, Mehdi Farhoudi, Pouran Karimi
• Journal: Cardiovascular journal of Africa (Cardiovasc J Afr) 2017 Sep/Oct 23 Vol. 28 Issue 5 Pg. 298-303 ISSN: 1680-0745 [Electronic] South Africa
• PMID: 28498386 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anticholesteremic Agents
• Cholesterol
• Atorvastatin
• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
• Caspase 3

Topics

• Animals
• Anticholesteremic Agents (pharmacology)
• Atorvastatin (pharmacology)
• Carotid Arteries (drug effects)
• Caspase 3 (drug effects)
• Cholesterol (blood)
• Down-Regulation
• Genes, bcl-2 (drug effects)
• Male
• Rats, Wistar
• Up-Regulation
• p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (drug effects)