Pravastatin sodium is an antilipemic fungal metabolite isolated from cultures of nocardia autotrophica. It acts as a competitive inhibitor of hmg coa reductase. Pravastatin is the sodium salt of pravastatin with cholesterol-lowering & potential antineoplastic activities. pravastatin competitively inhibits hepatic hydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme a (hmg-coa) reductase, the enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of hmg-coa to mevalonate, a key step in cholesterol synthesis. This agent lowers plasmacholesterol and lipoprotein levels, and modulates immune responses by suppressing mhc ii (major histocompatibility complex ii) on interferon gamma-stimulated, antigen-presenting cells such as human vascular endothelial cells. In addition, pravastatin, like other statins, exhibits pro-apoptotic, growth inhibitory, & pro-differentiation activities in a variety of tumor cells; these antineoplastic activities may be due, in part, to inhibition of the isoprenylation of ras and rho gtpases and related signaling cascades.

Pravastatin sodium is an antilipemic fungal metabolite isolated from cultures of nocardia autotrophica. It acts as a competitive inhibitor of hmg coa reductase. Pravastatin is the sodium salt of pravastatin with cholesterol-lowering & potential antineoplastic activities. pravastatin competitively inhibits hepatic hydroxymethyl-glutaryl coenzyme a (hmg-coa) reductase, the enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of hmg-coa to mevalonate, a key step in cholesterol synthesis. This agent lowers plasmacholesterol and lipoprotein levels, and modulates immune responses by suppressing mhc ii (major histocompatibility complex ii) on interferon gamma-stimulated, antigen-presenting cells such as human vascular endothelial cells. In addition, pravastatin, like other statins, exhibits pro-apoptotic, growth inhibitory, & pro-differentiation activities in a variety of tumor cells; these antineoplastic activities may be due, in part, to inhibition of the isoprenylation of ras and rho gtpases and related signaling cascades.