1. Pravastatin Improves Remodeling and Cardiac Function After Myocardial Infarction by an Antiinflammatory Mechanism Rather than by the Induction of Angiogenesis 
Tao-Sheng Li, MD, Masaya Takahashi, MD, Ryo Suzuki, MD, Toshiro Kobayashi, MD, Hiroshi Ito, MD, Akihito Mikamo, MD, Kimikazu Hamano, MD 
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 
Volume 81, Issue 6, Pages (June 2006)
DOI: /j.athoracsur
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

2. Fig 1
The effect of statins on the secretion of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from bone marrow mononuclear cells after 3 days of cultivation. (A) Compared with the control, the interleukin 1β concentration in the medium was significantly decreased by the addition of 10 or 100 μmol/L pravastatin. (B) Compared with the control, the vascular endothelial growth factor concentration in the medium was significantly decreased by the addition of 100 μmol/L, but not 10 μmol/L, pravastatin. All data are representative of six independent experiments by triplicate assessments.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

3. Fig 2
Echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function. (A) Representative M-mode echocardiograms done 28 days after treatment in each group. (B) Quantitative analysis of the time course changes in cardiac function showed that the percentage fraction shortening (FS%) of the left ventricle (LV) recovered significantly better in the pravastatin (PRAV; 5 mg/kg) and high pravastatin (High PRAV; 50 mg/kg) groups than in the phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) group, and that the recovery was even better in the rats injected intramyocardially with bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCI) and also receiving pravastatin (BMCI + PRAV).
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

4. Fig 3
Microvessel density in the infarcted myocardium 28 days after treatment. (A) More microvessels were observed in the rats injected intramyocardially with bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCI) and also receiving pravastatin (BMCI + PRAV) than in the other groups. (B) Quantitative analysis showed that the microvessel density was significantly higher in the BMCI and BMCI + PRAV groups than in the phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS), pravastatin (PRAV; 5 mg/kg), and high pravastatin (High PRAV; 50 mg/kg) groups, but it did not differ among the PBS, PRAV, and High PRAV groups. Inversely, the microvessel density showed a lower trend in the High PRAV group than in the PBS group (p = 0.065).
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

5. Fig 4
Azan staining of a cross section through the infarcted myocardium 28 days after treatment. (A) There was obviously less fibrotic tissue in the infarcted myocardium in the rats injected intramyocardially with bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCI) and also receiving pravastatin (BMCI + PRAV), and also in the pravastatin (PRAV; 5 mg/kg) and high pravastatin (High PRAV; 50 mg/kg) groups than in the phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) group. (B) Compared with the PBS group, quantitative analysis showed that the fibrotic area was significantly lower in the BMCI and BMCI + PRAV groups, and also in the PRAV and High PRAV groups.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

6. Fig 5
The infiltration of CD45-positive lymphocytes and CD117-positive hematopoietic stem cells in the infarcted myocardium 28 days after treatment. (A) A representative image of immunostaining with fluorescein isothiocyanate–labeled antibodies against CD45 and CD117 in each group. (B) Quantitative analysis showed that there were significantly fewer CD45-positive cells, but not CD117-positive cells, in the pravastatin (PRAV; 5 mg/kg) and high pravastatin (High PRAV; 50 mg/kg) groups than in the phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) group. The increase in CD117-positive cells in the rats injected intramyocardially with bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCI) and also receiving pravastatin (BMCI + PRAV) was calculated from the count of implanted CD117-positive hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow–derived mononuclear cells.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions

7. Fig 6
The mobilization effect of endothelial progenitor cells by pravastatin. (A) Compared with the baseline, the number of circulating CD34-positive cells in peripheral blood did not change significantly after the administration of 5 or 50 mg/kg pravastatin. (B) In vitro assessment of the endothelial differentiation potency of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. After 7 days of cultivation, the number of vascular endothelial-cadherin–positive cells in the mononuclear cells did not differ significantly among the rats given 14 days of continuous daily oral 5 mg/kg pravastatin, 50 mg/kg pravastatin, or phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) only. Data are representative of four independent experiments by triplicate assessments.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.athoracsur )
Copyright © 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions