In the present study, 110 fungal strains of Persian Type Culture Collection (PTCC) including some selected strains isolated in various screening projects were tested for their potentiality to produce lovastatin, a competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reduc-tase), the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. The fungal strains were cultivated in a t...

Cholesterol synthesis in the human body can be catalyzed by coenzyme HMG-CoA reductase, and lovastatin, a key enzyme inhibitor, reduce hypercholesterolemia. Lovastatin obtained as secondary metabolite of Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542. In this study, rice straw lignocellulose was used aeration agitation bath fermentation 1-L flask, maximal crude extraction rate 473 mg/L lovastatin obtained. The...

Glioblastoma is a common malignant brain tumor and it is refractory to therapy because it usually contains a mixture of cell types. The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been shown to induce apoptosis in a range of tumor cell types. Previously, we found that two human glioblastoma cell lines are resistant to TRAIL, while lovastatin sensitizes these glioblastoma...

Statin at appropriate concentrations has been shown to induce odontoblastic differentiation, dentinogenesis, and angiogenesis. However, using a carrier to control statin release might reduce toxicity and enhance its therapeutic effects. The aim of this study was to prepare poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles that contain lovastatin for application in direct pulp capping. Th...

This paper reports the results of an extensive survey on the levels of lovastatin in Pu-erh tea samples. The microbial source of lovastatin was assessed by testing the ability of fungi with higher isolation frequency in the Pu-erh tea samples to produce lovastatin on Czapek yeast extract agar (CYA). Lovastatin was not detected in any of the raw Pu-erh tea samples without storage but was found i...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have reported that statins have renoprotective effects, independent from lowering plasma cholesterol. In this study, we examined whether statins were beneficial in a murine model of HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). METHODS We used conditional transgenic mice that express one of the HIV-1 accessory genes, vpr, selectively in podocytes using podocin promoter and the...

BACKGROUND Acute coronary syndromes often result from rupture of vulnerable plaques. The collagen content of plaques probably regulates their stability. This study tested whether HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) alter interstitial collagen gene expression or matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) levels in rabbit atheroma. METHODS AND RESULTS We administered equihypocholesterolemic doses of pra...

Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A reductase inhibitors), apart from lowering plasma cholesterol, modulate other processes involved in atherogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a natural statin, pravastatin, and of the synthetic one, fluvastatin, on plasma paraoxonase 1 (PON1), the antioxidant enzyme contained in plasma high-density lipoproteins. The adult...

Regulated secretion of EC (endothelial cell) vWF (von Willebrand factor) is part of the haemostatic response. It occurs in response to secretagogues that raise intracellular calcium or cAMP. Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs used for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. We studied the effect of fluvastatin on regulated secretion of vWF from HUVEC (human umbilical-vein ECs). Secretion i...

Using the whole-cell voltage-clamp method, we investigated the effect of fluvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitor, on lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-induced nonselective cation current (I(NSC)) in guinea pig cardiac ventricular myocytes. External LPC (3 to approximately 50 microM) induced I(NSC) in a dose-dependent manner with a lag. With fluvastatin (5 microM) in the ex...