Recently, investigation may have focused on modification of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) associated with anti-inflammatory effect for the potential prevention of cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of atorvastatin and pitavastatin on serum apoA-I levels and to investigate the role of apoA-I in the anti-inflammatory effect of statin. We conducted a 6-month, prospective, randomized, open-label study in which we assigned hypercholesterolemic patients to a pitavastatin group (n = 52; 2 mg/day) or an atorvastatin group (n = 52; 10 mg/day) to investigate the effects of these two statins on the serum apoA-I levels and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the changes in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or hs-CRP levels, but the change in apoA-I in the pitavastatin group was significantly greater than in the atorvastatin group (5.3 vs. 1.4 %; p = 0.0001). A stepwise regression analysis revealed that the percent change in (Δ) serum apoA-I level was an independent predictor of the Δ serum hs-CRP (standard correlation coefficient = -0.198; p = 0.047). However, there was a significant negative correlation between the Δ apoA-I levels and Δ hs-CRP levels in the pitavastatin group (r = -0.283, p = 0.042), but not the atorvastatin group (r = -0.133, p = 0.356). The results suggest that the contribution of apoA-I to the reduction in serum hs-CRP levels by these two statins may be different. A decrease in hs-CRP level accompanied by an increase in apoA-I level may be involved in the pleiotropic effects of pitavastatin.
Keywords: Apolipoprotein A-I; Atherosclerosis; High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; Inflammation; Statin.