Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35118811›Full record

ArticleJournal of cellular and molecular medicine2022

Simvastatin inhibits stem cell proliferation in human leiomyoma via TGF-β3 and Wnt/β-Catenin pathways.

Sadia Afrin, Mohamed Ali, Malak El Sabeh, Qiwei Yang, Ayman Al-Hendy, Mostafa A Borahay

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  4. BMAL1 Regulates Collagen Production in the Myometrium and Leiomyomas.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Sadia AfrinDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5063-9900
Mohamed AliClinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Malak El SabehDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Qiwei YangDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Chicago School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Ayman Al-HendyDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Chicago School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Mostafa A BorahayDepartment of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0554-132X
Johns Hopkins University · USUniversity of Illinois Chicago · USAin Shams University · EG

Funding

Investigating the effectiveness of COVID-19 testing choices, community engagement, and culturally-embedded mHealth literacy delivery in a medically-underserved, community-based sampleR01ES028615 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI AL-HENDY, AYMAN, WALKER, CHERYL L. · 2017 to 2022
$5.0M
Hypovitaminosis D promotes MED12-associated genomic instability in uterine fibroidsR01HD094378 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI AL-HENDY, AYMAN, BOYER, THOMAS G · 2018 to 2022
$4.2M
Mechanisms of actions(s) of simvastatin in uterine leiomyomaR01HD094380 · NICHD · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI BORAHAY, MOSTAFA A. · 2018 to 2022
$4.0M
Pathological reprogramming of the m6A epitranscriptome in uterine fibroidsR01HD106285 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI AL-HENDY, AYMAN, BOYER, THOMAS G · 2021 to 2025
$3.2M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD094378NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD094380NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD106285NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES028615
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Uterine leiomyoma (UL) is the most common gynaecologic tumour, affecting an estimated 70 to 80% of women. Leiomyomas develop from the transformation of myometrial stem cells into leiomyoma stem (or tumour-initiating) cells. These cells undergo self-renewal and differentiation to mature cells, both are necessary for the maintenance of tumour stem cell niche and tumour growth, respectively. Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β/SMAD pathways, both overactive in UL, promote stem cell self-renewal, crosstalk between stem and mature cells, cellular proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation and drive overall UL growth. Recent evidence suggests that simvastatin, an antihyperlipidemic drug, may have anti-leiomyoma properties. Herein, we investigated the effects of simvastatin on UL stem cells. We isolated leiomyoma stem cells by flow cytometry using DyeCycle Violet staining and Stro-1/CD44 surface markers. We found that simvastatin inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in UL stem cells. In addition, it also suppressed the expression of the stemness markers Nanog, Oct4 and Sox2. Simvastatin significantly decreased the production of the key ECM proteins, collagen 1 and fibronectin. Finally, it inhibited genes and/or proteins expression of TGF-β1, 2 and 3, SMAD2, SMAD4, Wnt4, β-Catenin, LRP6, AXIN2 and Cyclin D1 in UL stem cells, all are key drivers of the TGF-β3/SMAD2 and Wnt4/β-Catenin pathways. Thus, we have identified a novel stem cell-targeting anti-leiomyoma simvastatin effect. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings in vivo.

Indexed as

LeiomyomaUterine Neoplasmsbeta CateninCell ProliferationFemaleHumansSimvastatinTransforming Growth Factor beta3beta CateninSimvastatinTransforming Growth Factor beta3proliferationsimvastatinstem cellTGF-β3/SMAD2 signallinguterine leiomyomaWnt4/β-catenin signalling

Identifiers

PMID35118811
PMCPMC8899165
OpenAlexW4210596167

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.