Effects of atorvastatin on aortic blood pressure and vascular endothelial function in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Objective To evaluate the effects ofatorvastatin on aortic blood pressure and vascular endothelial function in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR).Methods The 8-week-old SHR were randomized into atorvastatin treated group (ATV group,n=6),distilled water group (DW group,n=6),and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats as normal controls.Atorvastatin [50 mg/(kg,d)] and appropriate amounts of distilled water were administered to ATV group for 10 weeks by gavage.Blood pressure of caudal artery was examined before and after treatment,and serum titres of total cholesterol (TC),triglycerides (TG),high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and changes of serum endothelin-1 (ET-1),activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in aorta tissue were measured.Results Blood pressure in ATV group was much lower than that in DW group (P＜0.01).Compared with DW group and WKY group,serum titres of TC,TG and HDL-C in ATV group were significantly lower (P＜0.01,P＜0.05).Serum level of ET-1 was significant higher in DW group than in WKY group (P＜0.05),and the activity of NOS in aorta tissue was remarkedly reduced (P＜0.05).However,serum level of ET-1 was decreased (P＜0.05) while the activity of NOS in aorta tissue was elevated after treatment with ATV (P＜0.01).Conclusion Long-term administration ofatorvastatin can effectively reduce blood pressure.Atorvastatin may delay pathological progress of hypertension by ameliorating vascular endothelial function.