Cholesterol-lowering drug causing side effects to long-term users: CCMB study

HYDERABAD

Statins are one of the top selling drugs worldwide and are used to lower cholesterol. These drugs act by inhibiting a key enzyme (HMG-CoA Reductase) needed for making cholesterol in our body.

Yet, statins have been reported to give rise to severe side effects to long-term users, but the molecular basis of these side effects is not clear. A recent work by professor Amitabha Chattopadhyay’s group at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) showed that statins could induce changes in the architecture of cells as well, possibly leading to the side effects.

A cell’s architecture called cytoskeleton is made of proteins like actins that form polymers. These help the cells maintain their shape and size. Prof. Chattopadhyay’s study showed that statins could induce polymerisation of cytoskeleton, in addition to cholesterol lowering.

Published in the journal on lipid research (by the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), the study showed that statins affect the ‘actins’ or proteins in the cytoskeleton. “Our results constitute one of the first comprehensive reports providing a molecular basis for the reported side effects of statin treatment,” said Parijat Sarkar, the first author of the paper.

“These findings can provide vital clues in dissecting the biochemical processes that give rise to adverse effects of statins, thereby helping develop better drugs in future,” added Prof. Chattopadhyay in an official release.