Abstract:

Objective   To investigate the immunological mechanism of atorvastatin in experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) in rats. Methods   Atorvastatin was administered intraperitoneally to the EAMG rats. The intrathymic expression of fork head box protein 3 (Foxp3) was analyzed by the immunohistochemistry and the lymphocyte proliferation was determined by CCK-8. The level of IL-4 in culture supernatants of lymph node mononuclear cells (MNC) and antiR97-116 IgG in the serum were detected by ELISA. Results   Administration of atorvastatin ameliorated clinical signs of EAMG, increased the number of the Foxp3-positive cells in the thymic medulla, up regulated the level of IL-4 in culture supernatants, and decreased the level of serum anti-R97-116 IgG. Conclusion   Lower dose of atorvastatin could ameliorate EAMG by up-regulation of Treg and Th2 cytokines.

Key words:  Statins;  Myasthenia gravis, experimental autoimmune; Tlymphocytes; Interleukin4; Rats