Simvastatin reduces pentraxin 3 expression and secretion in human endothelial cells

Acute phase protein pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is increased in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, such as acute coronary syndrome and coronary artery vulnerability, thereby serving as an important biomarker for the prognosis of cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of statins on the expression of PTX3 in human endothelial cells. We observed that PTX3 is a TNFα inducible protein in human endothelial cells. In contrast, treatment with simvastatin reduces basal as well as TNFα induced gene and protein expression of PTX3 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Our study suggests that reducing PTX3 expression by statins could contribute to its protective effects against endothelial dysfunction and coronary artery plaque destabilization.