Atorvastatin affects the tissue concentration of hydrogen sulfide in mouse kidneys and other organs

Hydrogen sulfide (h2s) is a crucial co-modulator of cardiovascular,nervous,digestive and excretory systems function. the pleio-tropic action of atorvastatin exceeds simple 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl- coenzyme a (hmg-coa) reductase inhibition and involves multiple biological mechanisms. this study assesses the influence of atorvastatin on the h2s tissue concentration in mouse brain,liver,heart and kidney. twenty-four female cbastrain mice received an intraperitoneal injection. the mice were given one of the following solutions: 0.1 mg atorvastatin (5 mg/kg of body weight (b.w.)/day - group d1,n = 8),0.4 mg atorvastatin (20 mg/kg b.w./day - group d2,n = 8) or a saline physiological control (0.2 ml - group c,n = 8). a modified siegel spectrophotometric method was used for the h2s tissue concentration measurements. there was a remarkable rise in the h2s concentration [μg/g] in the kidney (c: 5.26 ± 0.09,d1: 5.77 ± 0.11,p = 0.0003; d2: 7.48 ± 0.09,p < 0.0001). there were also slight h 2s tissue level changes in the brain (c: 1.61 ± 0.01,d1: 1.75 ± 0.03,p = 0.0001; d2: 1.78 ± 0.03,p < 0.0001),the heart (c: 4.54 ± 0.08,d1: 4.86 ± 0.10,p = 0.0027; d2: 4.56 ± 0.07,p = 0.6997) and the liver (c: 3.45 ± 0.03,d1: 3.27 ± 0.02,p = 0.0001; d2: 3.31 ± 0.02,p = 0.0003). our study supports the influence of atorvastatin on h2s tissue concentration in kidneys and other mouse organs. copyright © 2011 by institute of pharmacology polish academy of sciences.