Methods were developed for the assay of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (NADPH) activity in microsomes from rat leukocytes. The activity in freshly isolated leukocytes is low compared to rat liver but can be assayed reliably. The patterns of response of leukocyte reductase in the assay to variation in substrate concentration, protein concentration, and time mimic those of rat liver reductas...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate hypolipidemic and anti-inflammatory effects of Artemisia vulgaris extract in hypercholesterolemic rats. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by feeding of rats with high fat diet containing 3% cholesterol in olein oil, for 8 weeks. Feeding of rats with high fat diet for 8 weeks, leading to a significant increase in serum triglycerides, total chole...

Using two independent prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP and MDA-PCa-2a), we demonstrate that coordinated stimulation of lipogenic gene expression by androgens is a common phenomenon in androgen-responsive prostate tumor lines and involves activation of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) pathway. We show 1) that in both cell lines, androgens stimulate the expression of fatty a...

Objective: To review the potential role and specific impact of statin drugs in women with PCOS. The evidence for this use of statins in PCOS is limited and still under further investigation. Materials and methods: A search was conducted using PubMed, DynaMed and PubMedHealth databases through October 16, 2016 using the terms polycystic ovary syndrome, PCOS, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase i...

The relaxant effect of the methyl ester of rosuvastatin was evaluated on aortic rings from male Wistar rats (250-300 g, 6 rats for each experimental group) with and without endothelium precontracted with 1.0 µM phenylephrine. The methyl ester presented a slightly greater potency than rosuvastatin in relaxing aortic rings, with log IC50 values of -6.88 and -6.07 M, respectively. Unlike rosuvasta...

Interindividual variability in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) response during treatment with statins is well documented but poorly understood. To investigate potential metabolic and genetic determinants of statin responsiveness, 19 patients with refractory heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were sequentially treated with placebo, atorvastatin (10 mg/d), bile acid sequ...

BACKGROUND The short-term effects of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) on endothelial function at doses that do not affect plasma lipid levels are not known. METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated the short-term effects of cerivastatin, a hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, on endothelial function and endothelium-related products in elderly diabeti...

Enzymes of the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway in halophilic archaea remain poorly characterized, and parts of the pathway remain cryptic. This situation may be explained, in part, by the difficulty of expressing active, functional recombinant forms of these enzymes. The use of newly available expression plasmids and hosts has allowed the expression and isolation of catalytically active Halofer...

The effect of 26-hydroxycholesteroI and other intermediates in bile acid synthesis on HMG-CoA reductase activity was studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture. Incubation of CHO cells for 5 hr in 0.25 PM 26-hydroxycholesterol caused a 40% inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase activity. All other intermediates tested including 3B-hydroxy-5cholenoic acid and cholest-5-ene-3B,7a,26-triol, oxid...

Statin inhibitors, used to control hypercholesterolemia, trigger apoptosis of hematologic tumor cells and therefore have immediate potential as anticancer agents. Evaluations of statins in acute myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma have shown that statin efficacy is mixed, with only a subset of tumor cells being highly responsive. Our goal was to distinguish molecular features of statinsen...