Overview of Therapeutic Effects of Statins on Inflammatory Diseases Through Regulating Adhesive Molecules

Simvastatin, lovastatin, rosuvastatin, pravastatin and cerivastatin belong to the statin family, which are competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A. As the rate-limiting enzyme in the pathway of cholesterol metabolism, statins are classically prescribed to patients as lipidlowering agents. However, statins also possess several extra bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory, antiviral and anti-tumor. Interestingly, the most essential mechanism of these activities is that statins could regulate the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), especially, targeting lymphocytes function-associated molecules (LFA)-1, macrophage (Mac)-1 and intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM)-1. Therefore, in this paper, we discussed the regulatory effect of statins on CAMs among different diseases. In addition, we provided speculation for the role of statins in treating orthopedic disease.