文章基本信息

标题：Atorvastatin increases human serum levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9
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作者：Holly E. Careskey ; R. Aleks Davis ; William E. Alborn 等
期刊名称：JLR Papers In Press
印刷版ISSN：0022-2275
电子版ISSN：1539-7262
出版年度：2008
卷号：49
期号：2
页码：394-398
DOI：10.1194/jlr.M700437-JLR200
语种：English
出版社：American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
摘要：Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has gained attention as a key regulator of serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. This novel protease causes the degradation of hepatic low density lipoprotein receptors. In humans, gain-of-function mutations in PCSK9 cause a form of familial hypercholesterolemia, whereas loss-of-function mutations result in significantly decreased LDL-C levels and cardiovascular risk. Previous studies have demonstrated that statins upregulate PCSK9 mRNA expression in cultured cells and animal models. In light of these observations, we studied the effect of atorvastatin on circulating PCSK9 protein levels in humans using a sandwich ELISA to quantitate serum PCSK9 levels in patients treated with atorvastatin or placebo for 16 weeks. We observed that atorvastatin (40 mg/day) significantly increased circulating PCSK9 levels by 34% compared with baseline and placebo and decreased LDL-C levels by 42%. These results suggest that the addition of a PCSK9 inhibitor to statin therapy may result in even further LDL-C decreases.