Simvastatin attenuates the activity of matrix metalloprotease-9 in aneurysmal aortic tissue.

Author(s): Evans J, Powell JT, Schwalbe E, Loftus IM, Thompson MM

Affiliation(s): Department of Surgery, University Hospitals of Leicester, UK. jev2@hotmail.com

Publication date & source: 2007-09, Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg., 34(3):302-3. Epub 2007 Jun 18.

Publication type: Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

To investigate whether statins reduce the concentration of MMP-9 in the aortic wall, we randomised patients undergoing elective open repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) to a pre-operative course of either simvastatin or placebo. MMPs in aortic biopsies were measured using gelatin zymography. Although recruitment closed early because of increasing statin use among eligible patients, with only 21 patients we demonstrated a 40% reduction in MMP-9 levels in the AAA wall in patients randomised to simvastatin. This provides a possible molecular mechanism to explain the reportedly beneficial effects of statins to slow AAA growth.