Atorvastatin modulates Th1/Th2 response in patients with chronic heart failure.

摘要

To the Editor: We congratulate Cheng et al for their interesting paper suggesting that atorvastatin can modulate the Th1/Th2 response in heart failure (HF) through inhibition of Th1 cytokine production. It is well known that in addition to lipid lowering effects, statins confer pleiotropic immunomodulatory, anti-atherogenic properties and a number of anti-tumor activities. We agree with Cheng et al that the pathophysiological importance of Th1/Th2 imbalance may potentially be transferable to a broader spectrum of clinical conditions beyond classical inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. However, the inherent complexity and abundance of T-cell signal-transduction pathways may limit current understanding of underlying mechanisms in nonischemic HF and therefore pose a challenge to the development of a cytokine-based diagnosis.