The effect of atorvastatin on warfarin-induced aortic medial calcification and systolic blood pressure (SBP) of rats induced by warfarin was studied. Thirty healthy and adult rats were randomly divided into Warfarin group (n=10), Atorvastatin group (n=10) and normal control group (n=10). Caudal arterial pressure of rats was measured once a week, and 4 weeks later, aorta was obtained. Elastic fiber, collagen fiber and calcium accumulation in tunica media of cells were measured by Von Kossa staining. The results showed that warfarin treatment led to elevation of systolic blood pressure and aortic medial calcification. The chronic treatment also increased collagen, but decreased elastin in the aorta. However, the atorvastatin treatment had adverse effects. It was concluded that treatment with atorvastatin presented evidence of blood pressure lowing and calcification reducing. These data demonstrate that atorvastatin protected aortic media from warfarin-induced calcification and elevation of systolic blood pressure.
Aortic Diseases/chemically induced ; Aortic Diseases/drug therapy ; Aortic Diseases/*pathology ; Blood Pressure/*drug effects ; Calcinosis/chemically induced ; Calcinosis/*drug therapy ; Calcinosis/pathology ; Heptanoic Acids/*pharmacology ; Heptanoic Acids/therapeutic use ; Hypertension/chemically induced ; Hypertension/*drug therapy ; Pyrroles/*pharmacology ; Pyrroles/therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar ; Warfarin

Animals ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; physiology ; Calcinosis ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; physiology ; Vascular Diseases ; chemically induced ; drug therapy