Objective To investigate the preventive effect of simvastatin，a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor，on hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and the relation between it and the angiotensin Ⅱ receptor-1（AT1R） expression in pulmonary arteriole.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Drawley rats were randomly allocated into three groups：a control group，a hypoxic group and a simvastatin preventive group.The animal model of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension was established by exposing the rats to normobaric hypoxic condition（8 h×6 d×3 w），and the preventive group were treated with simvastatin 10 mg/kg before hypoxic processing while the control and hypoxic groups were treated with sodium chloride.The mean pulmonary pressure（mPAP），serum cholesterol concentration，right ventricular hypertrophy index [RV/（LV+S）]，percentage of the wall thickness in the external diameter（WT%），percentage of the wall area in the total vascular area（WA%），and the AT1R expression in pulmonary arterioles were measured.Results When compared with the hypoxic group，in the preventive group，the mPAP and RV/（LV+S）obviously reduced [（22.6±3.86）mm Hg vs （29.3±2.27）mm Hg，（25.13±0.75）% vs （33.18±1.58）%，P lt;0.01 respectively]，the indices of wall thickness of rat pulmonary arteriole and area also decreased significantly [WT%：（15.98±1.96）% vs （25.14±1.85）%；WA%：（54.60±3.94）% vs 74.77±4.52）%；P lt;0.01 respectively]，and the positive degree of AT1R still lessened noticeably（1.23±0.09 vs 1.57±0.13，P lt;0.01）.All of the indices above in the hypoxic group increased markedly compared with the control group（P lt;0.01 respectively）.However，the differences of serum cholesterol among three groups were not significant（P gt;0.05）.Conclusions Simvastatin can suppress the expression of AT1R in pulmonary vessel and prevent hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.
Citation： XIA Xiuqiong,CHENG Deyun,SU Qiaoli,CHEN Xiaoju,YANG Li. Simvastatin can prevent hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in rats through suppressing the expression of Angiotensin Ⅱ Receptor-1. Chinese Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2007, 6(3): 213-216. doi: Copy