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pravastatin
The sodium salt of pravastatin with cholesterol-lowering and potential antineoplastic activities. Pravastatin competitively inhibits hepatic hydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, the enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, a key step in cholesterol synthesis. This agent lowers plasma cholesterol and lipoprotein levels, and modulates immune responses by suppressing MHC II (major histocompatibility complex II) on interferon gamma-stimulated, antigen-presenting cells such as human vascular endothelial cells. In addition, pravastatin, like other statins, exhibits pro-apoptotic, growth inhibitory, and pro-differentiation activities in a variety of tumor cells; these antineoplastic activities may be due, in part, to inhibition of the isoprenylation of Ras and Rho GTPases and related signaling cascades. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
| US brand name: | | Pravachol | | | | Abbreviation: | | PRAV | | |
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