Statin treatment before stroke reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine levels after stroke

Nicole Elisabeth Ørsted Schultz, Henrik Hasseldam, Rune Skovgaard Rasmussen, Nina Vindegaard, Oskar McWilliam, Helle Klingenberg Iversen, Flemming Fryd Johansen*

*Corresponding author for this work
5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: In this clinical case-control study, we investigated statin treatment in stroke patients on a range of inflammatory effectors in peripheral blood. We focus on RhoA GTPase and its downstream effectors as a future inflammatory target in stroke treatment. Methods: Data from 10 patients already on statins at stroke onset (Pre-S group) was compared with data from both 29 patients starting statin treatment right after stroke onset (Post-S group) and with 8 healthy controls. In T-cells isolated from stroke patients, we analyzed the activity of the main cytoskeletal regulator RhoA GTPase and its downstream effectors: rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK), myosin phosphatase targeting protein subunit 1 (pMYPT1), myosin light chain kinase (pMLC) and cofilin. In the blood samples, we further determined levels of 12 key plasma cytokines as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) and kallikrein. Results: Compared to healthy controls, the Post-S group achieved significantly higher RhoA and ROCK activities, while the Pre-S did not differ from controls. Levels of pMYPT1, pMLC and cofilin did not differ from controls in the Pre-S and Post-S groups. At day 90 after stroke, interferon γ and IL-18 were significantly increased in the Post-S group compared to the Pre-S group. We found a positive correlation between CRP and NIHSS, whereas kallikrein levels showed no correlation with NIHSS at any of the days. Conclusion: Stroke induces changes in the RhoA-ROCK pathway in T-cells. CRP and NIHSS score correlated positively in the study. Statins may have an anti-inflammatory effect as statin treatment before stroke reduces post-stroke pro-inflammatory levels. RhoA GTPase and its downstream effectors are possibly the key to improve statin treatment in stroke.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNeurological Research
Volume41
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)289-297
Number of pages10
ISSN0161-6412
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Apr 2019

Keywords

  • Clinical study
  • cytokines
  • inflammation
  • statin
  • stroke

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