Role of inhibition of protein prenylation in the cholesterol-dependent and cholesterol-independent effects of simvastatin

• Main Author: Volk, Catherine B.
• Other Authors: McDowell, Susan A.
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Ras proteins > Inhibitors.; Rho GTPases > Inhibitors.; Hypercholesteremia > Treatment.; Statins (Cardiovascular agents) > Physiological effect.
• Online Access: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/188222; http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1339597

Statins are widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia. Statins inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis, thereby activating genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis, which are under the control of the Sterol Regulatory Element (SRE). Statins also have cholesterol-independent beneficial cardiovascular effects mediated through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) / Akt signaling pathway and by inhibition of protein prenylation. Because statins inhibit the synthesis of isoprenoids, they can act by inhibiting the small signaling GTPases Ras and Rho, which require post-translational prenylation to become membrane-anchored and functional. We showed that simvastatin-mediated inhibition of protein prenylation does not appear to play a role in activation of SRE transcriptional activity in HepG2 cells. We also found that when isoprenoids were replenished, basal phospho-Akt decreased, suggesting that inhibition of prenylation by simvastatin mediates Akt phosphorylation. Future studies will be needed to investigate the role that inhibition of protein prenylation plays in the activation of the PI3-K/Akt pathway by simvastatin. === Department of Biology