COPD is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs associated with an abnormal inflammatory response to noxious particles, the most prevalent of which is cigarette smoke. Studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoking is associated with activation of the bone marrow, and chronic smoking can lead to the inflammatory changes seen in COPD. Due to the inflammatory nature of the disease, medicati...

Compactin (ML-236B) and the related compound, mevinolin, are competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA reductase), the rate-controlling enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Previous studies have shown that administration of compactin to cultured cells elicits a compensatory increase in the amount of HMG CoA reductase in the cells. A similar increase in HMG C...

Dermographism, or skin writing, is the most common type of physical urticaria, manifesting as pruritic linear wheals and erythema secondary to minor trauma, such as rubbing or stroking the skin. This reaction in the superficial dermis occurs within seconds to minutes after mechanical irritation and typically resolves within 1 to 2 hours. Usually there are no associated systemic signs and sympto...

BACKGROUND The metabolic syndrome and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are increasing at alarming rates. AIMS To determine the effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) on elevated liver enzymes in patients with hyperlipidemia. PATIENTS Patients with AST above 60 U/L prior to or during treatment with statin therapy at a quaternary care lipid clinic were reviewed. METHODS A retrosp...

BACKGROUND Itraconazole, a potent inhibitor of CYP3A4, increases the risk of skeletal muscle toxicity of some 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors by increasing their serum concentrations. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of itraconazole on the pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin, a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that is metabolized at least in ...

Screening of different yeast species showed that they are able to synthesize hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors. Crude methanol extracts and the purified inhibitors from Pichia labacensis and Candida cariosilignicola were tested for their biological activity on the solubilized microsomal HMGCoA reductase from Chinese hamster ovary cells. Identification of the inhibitors was...

Immunoprecipitation of native rat liver microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, phosphorylated by [gamma-32P]ATP in the presence of reductase kinase, revealed a major 97-kDa 32P band which disappeared upon competition with pure unlabeled 53-kDa HMG-CoA reductase. A linear correlation between the expressed/total HMG-CoA reductase activity ratio (E/T) and the fractio...