title: Lovastatin inhibits the growth and survival pathway of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B in immortalized rat brain neuroblasts.
abstract: We previously showed that lovastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, suppresses cell growth by inducing apoptosis in rat brain neuroblasts. Our aim was to study intracellular signalling induced by lovastatin in neuroblasts. Lovastatin significantly decreases the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Expression of p85 subunit and its association with phosphotyrosine-containing proteins are unaffected by lovastatin. Lovastatin decreases protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt phosphorylation, and its downstream effectors, p70S6K and the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) regulatory protein 1, 4E-BP1, in a concentration-dependent manner, and reduces p70S6K expression. Lovastatin effects are fully prevented with mevalonate. Only the highest dose of PI3-K inhibitors that significantly reduce PI3-K kinase activity induces apoptosis in neuroblasts but to a lower degree than lovastatin. In summary, this work shows that treatment of brain neuroblasts with lovastatin leads to an inhibition of the main pathway that controls cell growth and survival, PI3-K/PKB and the subsequent blockade of downstream proteins implicated in the regulation of protein synthesis. This work suggests that inactivation of the antiapoptotic PI3-K appears insufficient to induce the degree of neuroblasts apoptosis provoked by lovastatin, which must necessarily involve other intracellular pathways. These findings might contribute to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of some statins effects in the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Biología Molecular y Genética, Universidad de Extremadura, Caceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Cerezo-Guisado
authors.forename: Luis Jesus
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Garcia-Marin
authors.forename: Maria Jesus
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.forename: Maria Julia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bragado
mesh_terms: D000730:Androstadienes / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002867:Chromones / Q000494:pharmacology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D039561:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E / Q000378:metabolism; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051381:Rats; D038762:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D000077191:Wortmannin
chemical_list: D000730:Androstadienes; D002867:Chromones; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D039561:Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D009025:Morpholines; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; C085911:2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one; D014443:Tyrosine; D008148:Lovastatin; C494920:Akt1 protein, rat; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D038762:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa; D000077191:Wortmannin