| abstract |
The present invention is directed, among other things, to using secondary metabolites in the mevalonate pathway (such as, for example, HMG) and/or structurally related compounds to mediate biological activities (e.g., for therapeutic applications) and/or as diagnostic agents. In some embodiments, the biological activities comprise one or more pleiotropic effects of statins (such as, for example, angiogenesis, promoting vascular function, anti-inflammatory action, immunomodulation, etc.). Also provided are methods of screening for mevalonate pathway secondary metabolites, methods of producing HMG, and methods of diagnosing comprising measuring amount of mevalonate pathway secondary metabolites. |