ITGB4 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: While these effects all contribute to murine ALI protection by statins, we identified integrin β4 (ITGB4) as the most upregulated gene in EC treated with simvastatin4 and confirmed that ITGB4 is a critical mediator of EC inflammatory responses relevant to ALI, evidenced by the abrogation of murine ALI protection by simvastatin in response to the use of an ITGB4 blocking antibody7.