Table 1.

Possible mechanisms of statins on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cancer.

Lipid-lowering activities
Cholesterol biosynthesis ↓	[1]
LDL-receptors ↑	[22,23]
Endothelial function
Expression and activity of Nitric oxide ↑	[32]
Endothelin-1 ↓	[30]
Angiotensin II receptor ↓	[31]
NF-κB activation ↓	[43]
Anti-inflammatory effects
Pro-inflammatory cytokines ↓	[33,34,35]
C-reactive protein ↓	[44]
Adhesion molecules ↓	[45]
Matrix Metalloprotease ↓	[46,47]
NF-κB activation ↓	[43]
Antioxidant activity
NADPH oxidase activity ↓	[37]
Reactive oxygen species production ↓	[36]
Antithrombotic activities
Tissue factor expression ↓	[48]
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression ↓	[49]
Platelet activation ↓	[50]
Tissue-type plasminogen activator expression ↑	[49]
Angiogenesis
Endothelial progenitor cells ↑	[51,52]
PI3 kinase activity ↑	[52]
Angiogenesis ↑	[53]
(Statins have biphasic effects on angiogenesis; high-dose statins inhibit angiogenesis)
Antitumor activity
Pro-apoptotic protein ↑	[54]
Cell proliferation ↓	[38,39]
Angiogenesis (High dose) ↓	[53]
Hippo-Yap/TAZ pathway ↓	[40,41,42]