Efficacy of atorvastatin on lungu histopathology in a murine model of asthma

Introduction: Atorvastatin is a statin group medicine that reduces the level of serum cholesterol, thus its used to treat hypercholesterolemia. Independent of cholesterol-lowering property of statins they have also anti-inflammatory and immunmodulating effects. For this purpose they have been used in many diseases. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of atorvastatin on histological changes in lung in a murine model of chronic asthma in BALB/c mice.Methods: Twenty-eight BALB / c mice in Group I, II, III and IV were divided into four groups. All the mice except the control group (Group I), were sensitized with ovalbumin. Intraperitoneal injection with saline, atorvastatin(10mg/kg),dexametazon(1mg/kg) was administered to Group II, Group III, Group IV respectively for five consecutive days. Mice were sacrificed after 24 hours from the last drug administration. All the histological properties of lung tissue samples from all groups were evaluated with light and electron microscopy. In all groups, lung histology was evaluated by light and electron microscopy. In addition, IL-4 and IL-5 levels of the lung tissue were measured.Results: When Group II and Group III (atorvastatin) were compared, thicknesses of basement membrane and subepithelial smooth muscle layer, height of epithelium, number of mast and goblet cells were significantly lower in group III. In comparing of Group III (atorvastatin) and Group IV (dexamethasone), all the improvement in histologic parameters were similar. In addition, the IL-4 and IL-5 levels of the lung tissue were significantly lower in atorvastatin group (Group III) compared to placebo-treated group.Conclusion: We found that atorvastatin ameliorated histological changes and cytokine levels in chronic murine model of asthma. Further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of atorvastatin on lung inflammation and remodeling.