Statin therapy and gut microbiota

Abstract

Accumulating studies reveal that statins are associated with distinct gut microbiota profiles. Statin therapy helps maintain gut microbiota homeostasis, reducing the prevalence of gut microbiota dysbiosis and breaking antimicrobial resistance. The possible mechanisms may include improving bile acids metabolism, regulating intestinal innate immunity, and inhibiting cell membrane biosynthesis. Statin treatment might benefit patients with obesity, cardiovascular diseases, malignancies, and immune-related diseases by modulating the compositions and functions of gut microbiota. The altered gut microbiota functions by regulating the host metabolism with microbial-derived metabolites, such as primary and secondary bile acids (BAs) and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Meanwhile, statins can be degraded or modified by the gut microbiota, which may affect the treatment effectiveness in clinic. The addition of probiotics could enhance the effects of statins on hypercholesterolemia and inflammation. Collectively, the interaction between statins and gut microbiota shows great promise for new therapeutic targets and personalized medicine in many diseases, which still need further investigation.