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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Dec 15.
Published in final edited form as: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2013 May 2;33(7):10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.300922. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.300922

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Novel mechanisms of the pleiotropic effects of statins. The present study demonstrates that regular-dose statins enhance small GTP-binding protein GDP dissociation stimulator (SmgGDS) expression through glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β inhibition via phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, and that SmgGDS transports Rac1 to the nucleus, where Rac1 is degraded by the nuclear proteasome with resultant reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (left). In contrast, high-dose statins exert inhibitory effects on the Rho/ Rho-kinase pathway as previously demonstrated (right). FPP indicates farnesyl pyrophosphate; GGPP, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate; HMG-CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A; and VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.