HMGCR and osteogenesis imperfecta: However, simvastatin and lovastatin, inhibitors of the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) in cholesterol synthesis,28 strongly abrogated the viral overgrowth caused by OI (Fig. 3d, e and Supplementary Fig. 5b), indicating that OI-mediated viral overgrowth largely depends on some metabolic pathways downstream of HMGCR.