Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of hydroxyl-methylglutaryl-CoA(HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor,atorvastatin,on airway remodeling in asthmatic rats. Methods The male Sprague-Dawly rats were randomly divided into 4 groups with 20 rats in each group:the control group，the model group,the dexamethasone treated group and the atorvastatin treatment group.The asthmatic rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection and repeated inhalation of 10g/L ovalbumin.The changes of collagen typeⅢ,peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-gamma(PPAR-γ),the nurmber of nuclear factor-κβ-positive cells,inflammatory cells in the airway wall,were detected by immunohistochemical and pathological methods;the internal perimeter of bronchi(Pi),the area of bronchial smooth muscle(WAm) and bronchus wall were measured by the computerized image analysis system. Results 1. The numbers of eosinophils, lymphocytes, nuclear factor-κβ-positive cells,the contents of collagen typeⅢwere lower and the expression of PPAR-γ was higher in atorvastatin group than that of the model group，the difference being significant(all EM>P/EM><0.05); compared with dexamethasone no statistically significant(EM>P/EM>>0.05); The WAm/Pi, bronchu smooth muscle area／Pi, N／Pi in atorvastatin group were lower than that of the model group，the difference was significant(all EM>P/EM><0.05).The negative correlation was found between expression of PPAR-γ and the nurmber of nuclear factor-κβ-positive cell (rs=-0.530,EM>P/EM><0.05).Conclusion Atorvastatin can promo

Key words: Atorvastatin, Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ, Airway remodeling, Immunohistochemistry, Rat