Cardioprotective cytokine interleukin-33 is up-regulated by statins in human cardiac tissue.

Interleukin (IL)-33 is a member of the IL-1 family and is able to act cardioprotective. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of IL-33 by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) and bisphosphonates (BPs) in human cardiac tissue. The lipophilic fluvastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin, and lovastatin as well as the nitrogenous BPs alendronate and ibandronate, but not hydrophilic pravastatin increased IL-33 mRNA and intracellular IL-33 protein levels in both human adult cardiac myocytes (HACM) and fibroblasts (HACF). Additionally, fluvastatin reduced soluble ST2 secretion from HACM. IL-33 was also up-regulated by the general inhibitor of prenylation perillic acid, a RhoA kinase inhibitor Y-27632, and by latrunculin B, but statin-induced IL-33 expression was inhibited by mevalonate, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) and RhoA activator U-46619. The IL-33 promoter was 2.3-fold more accessible in statin-treated HACM compared to untreated cells (P = 0.037). In explanted hearts of statin-treated patients IL-33 protein was up-regulated as compared with the hearts of non-statin-treated patients (P = 0.048). As IL-33 was previously shown to exert cardioprotective effects, one could speculate that such up-regulation of IL-33 expression in human cardiac cells, which might happen mainly through protein geranylgeranylation, could be a novel mechanism contributing to known cardioprotective effects of statins and BPs.