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Originally published as JGV in Press, 10.1099/vir.0.009936-0 on March 12, 2009 J Gen Virol 90 (2009), 1775-1780; DOI 10.1099/vir.0.009936-0

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Short Communication

Oral pravastatin prolongs survival time of scrapie-infected mice

Vito Vetrugno1, Michele Angelo Di Bari2, Romolo Nonno2, Maria Puopolo1, Claudia D'Agostino2, Laura Pirisinu2, Maurizio Pocchiari1 and Umberto Agrimi2

1 Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
2 Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy

Correspondence
Vito Vetrugno
vito.vetrugno{at}iss.it

Statins are potent inhibitors of HMG–CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase in the cholesterol-biosynthesis pathway. They are either lipophilic (e.g. simvastatin) or hydrophilic [e.g. pravastatin (PRV)] compounds, considered mainly for long-term treatment of hypercholesterolaemic individuals. Beneficial effects of statins are not related exclusively to their lipid-lowering action; they also possess cholesterol-independent, pleiotropic effects (e.g. anti-inflammatory and antioxidant). Recent studies revealed that simvastatin treatment increased survival significantly in scrapie-infected mice. Although PRV treatment results in measurable drug levels in the mouse brain, the anti-prion effect of this compound has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to test the potential therapeutic action of PRV in a murine scrapie model. Our study showed that high-dose and long-term oral PRV treatment prolonged survival times of strain 139A scrapie-infected mice significantly (194 versus 177 days) in the absence of any obvious toxicity, suggesting that protective effects of statins may be independent of absolute solvent or water solubility of the drug.






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