Publication at Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové |
2011
Abstract
In this study, we hypothesized whether atorvastatin treatment affects endoglin/ALK-1/p-Smad1/VEGF expression in the aorta and endoglin levels in serum in ApoE/LDLR double knockout mice. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that atorvastatin increases endoglin/ALK-1/p-Smad1/VEGF expression in aorta and decreases the size of atherosclerotic lesions, suggesting that activation of this endothelial-protective pathway might support the antiatherogenic effects of atorvastatin.
Moreover, atorvastatin concurrently decreased serum levels of endoglin suggesting that monitoring of endoglin levels in blood might represent an important marker of the progression and/or treatment of atherosclerosis.