In the presence of high levels of cholesterol, it accumulates in the walls of blood vessels and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cholesterol molecules play a key role in the structure and signaling pathways of cells, and have recently been found to play an important role in immune function as well. A research team has found that statins, commonly prescribed drugs to lower cholesterol levels, provide protective immune function in women. The study is published in Frontiers in Medicine. Previous studies in laboratory models have shown that lipids play an important role in modulating immune cells. For the purposes of the analysis, the researchers looked at whether there was a relationship between levels of serum lipids, which include measures of total cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, and antinuclear antibodies – ANA. ANAs are the most common type of autoantibodies and serve as diagnostic and predictive markers for current or future autoimmune disease, in addition to cardiovascular disease and risk of death. The presence of ANAs may also be an indicator of immune activation or dysfunction in response to cell turnover or pathogens�including SARS-CoV2 infection, as ANAs have been detected in at-risk patients with COVID-19. The study investigated the relationship between serum lipid levels and antinuclear antibodies. It has been found that elevated levels of lipids can prompt immune cells to become more reactive. There is evidence in laboratory model studies that indeed high lipid levels can trigger autoimmunity. The researchers found no significant relationship between serum lipid levels and ANA levels. The focus of the study was on the use of statins. The effects of statin use in autoimmunity are controversial. While some studies have shown significant anti-inflammatory benefits of statins in patients with autoimmune diseases, other studies have shown that statins may promote the development of autoimmune diseases. Interestingly, statin use was found to have a beneficial effect for women but not for men. Women taking statins were 75% less likely to have high levels of antinuclear antibodies than those who did not. This finding is particularly important because, historically, drug research has been conducted primarily with male participants. This means that women often experience more severe or unexpected side effects. This is really important because women tend to have more adverse reactions to statins, the researchers explain. Often, adherence to statin treatment may not be as effective because they experience more side effects. This study only looked at the relationship between statin use and antinuclear antibody levels. There are known to be sex-specific differences in the immune response. It has also been foundthat there are sex-specific differences in lipid metabolism. The relationship between lipid metabolism and the immune response is not yet sufficiently elucidated to determine how these lipid-immune interactions may be different�or how traditional drugs used in cardiovascular disease that target lipid metabolism may provide benefit of men versus women in the context of immunity in different ways. References: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.887741