Abstract
The administration of pravastatin to patients with cholestatic liver disease has suggested the potential of the drug with regard to reducing raised plasma cholesterol and bile acid levels. Information about the mechanisms associated with this effect is lacking.
Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate pravastatin effects on the liver bile acid and cholesterol homeostasis in healthy and cholestatic rats. Control sham-operated and reversibly bile duct-obstructed (BDO) rats were treated with pravastatin (1 or 5 mg/kg) or the vehicle alone for 7 days after surgery.
Results of the study demonstrated that pravastatin rendered a positive reduction in BDO-induced increases in plasma bile acid concentrations and cholesterol liver content, mainly through the transcriptionally-mediated down-regulation of genes involved in the synthesis of these compounds in the liver.