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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 May 5.
Published in final edited form as: Eur J Pharmacol. 2022 Mar 20;922:174906. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.174906

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Pleiotropic effects of statins. Statins’ impact extends beyond cholesterol reduction. Inhibition of FPP and GGPP mediated protein prenylation can be the root of many pleiotropic effects. Inhibition of the Rho/ROCK pathway is responsible for many of these effects. Statin use is associated with increased induction of eNOS, increased bioavailability of NO, decreased induction of NADPH oxidase, reduced incidence of thrombogenesis, cardioprotective effects arising from decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and cardiac fibrosis, and anticancer effects. Statins can induce ferroptosis by decreasing CoQ10 levels. Anti-inflammatory mechanisms of statins include inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome, induction of PPA receptor-α and PPA receptor-γ, inhibition of mast cell degranulation, and inhibition of chemokine and integrin expression. Statins also have potential implications in osteogenesis, inducing the differentiation of osteoblasts while simultaneously inhibiting osteoclast activation. Statins also have antifungal properties secondary to FPP inhibition.