Effect atorvastatin on serum tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1β following acute pulmonary embolism

This study was designed to investigate the effect of atorvastatin on the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) following acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Forty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into control and atorvastatin groups. Acute PE was created by injection of autologous blood clots into the femoral vein. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure TNF-α and IL-1β. At baseline, there was no significant difference in serum TNF-α (10.6 ± 1.3 versus 11.2 ± 1.9 pg/mL; P > .05) or IL-1β (8.2 ± 1.0 versus 8.6 ± 0.9 pg/mL; P > .05) between the control group and the atorvastatin group. In both groups, there was a significant increase in the serum TNF-α and IL-1β following acute PE. However, the levels of serum TNF-α and IL-1β in the atorvastatin group was significantly lower than in the control group following PE (P < .01). The authors conclude that acute PE is associated with a significant increase in serum proinflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β. Pretreatment with atorvastatin diminished the increase in TNF-α and IL-1β.