HMG‐CoA reductase inhibitor‐induced L6 myoblast cell death: involvement of the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase pathway

Abstract

Our previous studies have shown that the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (HCRI) causes rhabdomyolysis and electrical myotonia in rabbits and also kills L6 myoblasts in culture. In the present study, we analyzed the intracellular signal transduction pathway of HCRI-induced cell death using L6 myoblasts as a model system. Here, we report that simvastatin, a lipophilic HCRI, efficiently inhibited isoprenylation of Ras proteins and therefore induced translocation of a significant part of Ras proteins from the membrane fraction into the cytosolic fraction within 10 min. With this translocation, PI 3-kinase activity of the Ras-bound form both in total and in the membrane fraction was also decreased profoundly. Furthermore, various PI 3-kinase inhibitors also caused cell death with morphological changes similar to those caused by simvastatin. These results might represent the molecular events of HCRI-induced cell death, and suggest the significance of PI 3-kinase activity of the Ras-bound form in the maintenance of cell viability.