Background
In asthma, the decrease of pulmonary function and occurrence of pulmonary inflammation are largely attributed to the increase of airway vagal activity, of which the genesis involves disrupted degradation of central extracellular ATP to adenosine due to decreased expression and activity of ecto-5’-nucleotidase (CD73). Meanwhile, the therapeutic use of statins reportedly is able to alleviate asthma; however, the mechanisms remain unclear. This study test whether rosuvastatin is able to attenuate the downregulation of central CD73 and, subsequently, attenuate the increase of airway vagal activity in the rat model of allergic asthma.