The Effects of Simvastatin on Th17 Cytokines and Th17 Polarizing Cytokine in COPD Patients

Summary

Airway inflammation is partly driven by Th17 and Th17-polarizing cytokines that is steroid-resistant. Statins could suppress IL-17 cytokines in other diseases such as atherosclerosis and multiple sclerosis in mouse model. The investigators hypothesize that statins might provide anti-inflammatory benefit of suppressing IL-17 cytokines in COPD patients.

Timeline

Start

2013-09

Primary completion

2014-08

Completion

2014-08

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

paper Simvastatin reversed the IL-17A/IL-10 imbalance in the airways PMID 26043025 ↗

paper At 4 weeks, there was a significant reduction in sputum IL-17A, IL-22, IL-6, and CXCL8 concentrations PMID 26043025 ↗

paper whereas IL-10 concentrations, IDO messenger RNA expression (fold change), and IDO activity (kynurenine to tryptophan ratio) were markedly increased during simvastatin treatment compared with placebo PMID 26043025 ↗

Publications

• Maneechotesuwan K, Wongkajornsilp A, Adcock IM, Barnes PJ. Simvastatin Suppresses Airway IL-17 and Upregulates IL-10 in Patients With Stable COPD. Chest. 2015 Nov;148(5):1164-76. doi: 10.1378/chest.14-3138.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	Simvastatin	Small molecule	20 mg	Oral

Indications