Statins are widely used to treat hyperlipidemia and their immunosuppressive effect has been confirmed in immune mediated disease models.The effect of pravastatin (shown on the right) on allergic airway inflammation in a mouse model was examined focusing on its effect on IL17 production.
Pravastatin suppresses the systemic sensitisation to allergen with downregulation of IL17 production. It also suppresses the immune response in the airway by suppressing antigen presentation in the lung.
Therefore, statins could be a novel therapeutic option for treatment of asthma.
Statins May Worsen Asthma - New Findings Contradict Earlier Studies (ACAAI, 2011).
References:
Pravastatin attenuates allergic airway inflammation by suppressing antigen sensitisation, interleukin 17 production and antigen presentation in the lung. M Imamura et al. Thorax 2009;64:44-49.
Simvastatin provides little help for reducing steroid use in asthma. JACI Blog, 2010. http://goo.gl/7xllp
Statins associated with reduced hospitalization for asthma - Taipei Veterans Hospital, 2011.
Image source: Simvastatin. Wikipedia, public domain.
Image source: Simvastatin. Wikipedia, public domain.
