Effects of Statins and Xuezhikang on the Expression of Secretory Phospholipase A2, Group IIA in Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial vascular disease characterized by formation of inflammatory lesions. Secretory phospholipase A2, group IIA (sPLA2-IIA) is involved in this process and plays a critical role. However, the exact role of sPLA2-IIA in cardiovascular inflammation is more complicated and remains unclear. Furthermore, both statins and Xuezhikang (XZK) are widely used in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease risk because of their pleiotropic effects on the cardiovascular system. However, their effects on sPLA2-IIA are still controversial. We investigated the regulation of sPLA2-IIA by rat thoracic aorta smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in culture. Cells were first incubated with IL-1β alone to induce expression of sPLA2-IIA and then treated with several concentrations of statins or XZK for different times in the absence or presence of IL-1β. We tested the expression of sPLA2-IIA, including sPLA2-IIA mRNA, protein, as well as activity. We found that statins or IL-1β increase the expression of sPLA2-IIA in VSMCs and the effect is based on a synergetic relationship between them. However, for the first time, we observed that XZK effectively reduces sPLA2-IIA expression in IL-1β-treated VSMCs. Our findings may shine a new light on the clinical use of XZK and statins in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis-related thrombosis.