A pleiotropic antiatherogenic action of ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is a cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2) inhibitor known to reduce the production of prostaglandins that play prominent role in inflammation. Other properties of the drug, aside from its anti-inflammatory effects, have been recently studied. In this paper we shall discuss several properties of ibuprofen that making the drug interesting for treatment of conditions associated with atherosclerosis. Ibuprofen exerts pleiotropic effects such as inhibition of adhesion and transendothelial migration of leukocytes, suppressing intracellular production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative modification of LDL. Interestingly, ibuprofen increased HDL cholesterol levels and reduced the level of triglicerides. Ibuprofen can also modulate efficiency of fibrynolisis by inhibiting production of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1). This properties of ibuprofen may be due to changing the activity of transcription factors. Ibuprofen inhibits the activation of NF-kB and activates PPARa and PPARg.