Luis E. Simental-Mendía*, Mario Simental-Mendía, Claudia I. Gamboa-Gómez, Tannaz Jamialahmadi and Amirhossein Sahebkar Pages 1205 - 1212 ( 8 )
Background: In vascular tissue, macrophages and inflammatory cells produce the enzyme lipoprotein- associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2). Treatment with fibrates decreases Lp-PLA2 levels in individuals with obesity and metabolic syndrome; however, these findings have not been fully clarified.
Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the possible effects of fibrate therapy on Lp-PLA2 mass and activity through a meta-analysis of clinical trials.
Methods: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched using MeSH terms and keywords. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) evaluating the effect of statins on Lp- PLA2 mass and/or activity were included in the meta-analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using a random- effects model and the generic inverse variance method.
Results: The meta-analysis of 10 clinical trials indicated that fibrate treatment has no significant effect on Lp- PLA2 mass (fibrate vs. placebo/nothing = WMD: -3.29 ng/ml, 95% CI: -21.35, 14.78, p = 0.72; fibrate vs. active control = WMD: -1.08 ng/ml, 95% CI: -51.38, 49.22, p = 0.97); Lp-PLA2 activity (fibrate vs. active control = WMD: 0.84 nmol/ml/min, 95% CI: -0.17, 1.84, p = 0.10); HDL-LpPLA2 activity (fibrate vs. active control = WMD: 0.77 nmol/ml/min, 95% CI: -0.33, 1.88, p = 0.17); and secretory PLA2 (fibrate vs. active control = WMD: 0.37 ng/ml, 95% CI: -1.22, 1.97, p = 0.65). Also, the results of the sensitivity analysis were robust for all these parameters.
Conclusion: In conclusion, fibrate therapy did not reduce the mass and activity of Lp-PLA2.
Fibrates, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, HDL-LpPLA2, inflammatory cells, metabolic syndrome, macrophages.