Figure 3.

The synergistic effects of simvastatin on transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) -induced Foxp3 induction are mediated by blocking protein geranylgeranylation. (a) Schematic diagram of the mevalonate pathway is shown. Names in bold indicate metabolic enzymes, names in italics are specific inhibitors of those enzymes. (b) CD4⁺ Foxp3⁻ T cells were stimulated as in Fig. 1 in the presence of simvastatin or inhibitors of the downstream branches of the mevalonate pathway (20 μm of FTI-276 or 20 μm of GGTI-2133) for 72 hr. Foxp3 expression was measured by intracellular staining. Data are representative of three other experiments.