Introducing statins as possible widely-available drugs for the treatment of viral infections requires an in depth review of their antiviral properties. Despite some inconsistency, a large body of literature data from experimental and clinical studies suggest that statins may have a role in the treatment of viral infections due to their immunomodulatory properties as well as their ability to inhibit viral replication. In the present review, the role that statins may play while interacting with the immune system during viral infections and the possible inhibitory effects of statins on different stages of virus cell cycle (i.e., from fusion with host cell membranes to extracellular release) and subsequent virus transmission are described. Specifically, cholesterol-dependent and cholesterol-independent mechanisms of the antiviral effects of statins are reported.

引入他汀类药物作为治疗病毒感染的可能广泛使用的药物，需要对其抗病毒特性进行深入研究。尽管存在一些不一致，但是来自实验和临床研究的大量文献数据表明，他汀类药物由于其免疫调节特性以及抑制病毒复制的能力，可能在病毒感染的治疗中发挥作用。在本综述中，他汀类药物在病毒感染过程中与免疫系统相互作用时可能发挥的作用以及他汀类药物对病毒细胞周期不同阶段的可能抑制作用（即，从与宿主细胞膜融合到细胞外释放，以及随后的病毒传播。具体地，报道了他汀类药物的抗病毒作用的胆固醇依赖性和胆固醇依赖性机制。