Use of statins in the prevention and treatment of radiation injury and other disorders associated with reduced endothelial thrombomodulin

摘要

The present invention discloses statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) consistently and significantly increased endothelial cell thrombomodulin protein and functional activity. Statins also abrogated the downregulation of thrombomodulin that occurs in response to radiation injury. These results indicate that preserving or restoring endothelial thrombomodulin expression and function by statins may be useful in a variety of disorders associated with widespread endothelial dysfunction such as sepsis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and normal tissue radiation injury.