Pitavastatin inhibits lysophosphatidic acid-induced proliferation and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression in aortic smooth muscle cells by suppressing Rac-1-mediated reactive oxygen species generation.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a product generated during oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and a major lipid extracted from human atherosclerotic plaques, has been shown to elicit smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and inflammation, thereby being involved in atherogenesis. Recently, statins, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, have been reported to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and slows the progression of atherosclerosis, at least partly, via pleiotropic effects. However, the effect of statin on the LPA-signaling in SMCs remains to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated whether and how pitavastatin could inhibit the LPA-induced proliferation and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expression in cultured human aortic SMCs. LPA dose-dependently increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in SMCs, which was blocked by diphenylene iodonium (DPI), an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase or pitavastatin. The anti-oxidative property of pitavastatin was prevented by simultaneous treatment of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Furthermore, overexpression of dominant negative Rac-1 mutant was found to inhibit the LPA-induced ROS generation in SMCs. LPA induced Rac-1 activation in SMCs, which was suppressed by pitavastatin or LPA receptor antagonist. Pitavastatin, DPI, and an anti-oxidant N-acetylcysteine inhibited the LPA-induced proliferation and MCP-1 gene expression in SMCs. These results suggest that pitavastatin could block the LPA-induced proliferation and MCP-1 expression in SMCs by suppressing Rac-1-mediated NADPH oxidase-dependent ROS generation. Our present study provides a novel beneficial aspect of pitavastatin; pitavastatin may act as a blocker of the LPA-signaling in SMCs.