Effect of simvastatin on interleukin-1β secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with essential hypertension

Objective Statins have been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects.We studied whether treatment with simvastatin lowered Il-1β secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in individuals with essential hypertension.Methods PBMCs were isolated by gradient centrifugation from 24 individuals with essential hypertension (EH).Il-1β concentrations in supernatant from PBMCs were measured by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The patients with EH were then randomized to treatment with simvastatin (40 mg/day) or matching group for 2 weeks.Il-1β secretion by PBMCs were also measured. Results Compared with controls,Simvastatin treatment had a significant effect of decreasing IL-1β [668±98pg/ml vs 923±67 pg/ml; P0.05]secretion in PBMCs stimulated by angiotensin II.The reductions were not correlated to changes in plasma lipids.Conclusions This study shows that treatment with simvastatin may attenuate the inflammation in patients with essential hypertension.