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Lovastatin inhibits the growth and survival pathway of phosphoinositide 3‐kinase/protein kinase B in immortalized rat brain neuroblasts
Author(s) -
CerezoGuisado Maria Isabel,
GarciaMarin Luis Jesus,
Lorenzo Maria Jesus,
Bragado Maria Julia
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2005.03345.x
Subject(s) - lovastatin , neuroblast , protein kinase b , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , protein kinase a , kinase , cdc42 , apoptosis , signal transduction , biochemistry , neurogenesis , cholesterol
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, p70 S6K and the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) regulatory protein 1, 4E‐BP1, in a concentration‐dependent manner, and reduces p70 S6K 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.