Simvastatin Blocks Blood-Brain Barrier Disruptions Induced by Elevated Cholesterol Both In Vivo and In Vitro

Figure 4

Simvastatin blocks cholesterol-induced TEER decline and transendothelial permeability in vitro. Rat primary brain endothelial cells were stimulated for 24 h with 10 μM cholesterol in the presence or absence of simvastatin (5 μM). TEER of confluent RBMECs (a) and permeability of FITC-BSA (b) were measured. Simvastatin significantly blocks both the TEER decline and the increase in FITC-BSA permeability induced by high cholesterol (a, b). TEER was expressed in ohms per square centimeter for electrical resistance (𝑛=8, *𝑃<0.05; **𝑃<0.01).

(a)

(b)