Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 994: Simvastatin Induces Apoptosis in Medulloblastoma Brain Tumor Cells via Mevalonate Cascade Prenylation Substrates

Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 994: Simvastatin Induces Apoptosis in Medulloblastoma Brain Tumor Cells via Mevalonate Cascade Prenylation Substrates Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers11070994 Authors: Kimia Sheikholeslami Annan Ali Sher Sandhini Lockman Daniel Kroft Meysam Ganjibakhsh Kazem Nejati-Koshki Shahla Shojaei Saeid Ghavami Mojgan Rastegar Medulloblastoma is a common pediatric brain tumor and one of the main types of solid cancers in children below the age of 10. Recently, cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs have been highlighted for their possible anti-cancer effects. Clinically, statins are reported to have promising potential for consideration as an adjuvant therapy in different types of cancers. However, the anti-cancer effects of statins in medulloblastoma brain tumor cells are not currently well-defined. Here, we investigated the cell death mechanisms by which simvastatin mediates its effects on different human medulloblastoma cell lines. Simvastatin is a lipophilic drug that inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and has pleotropic effects. Inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase prevents the formation of essential downstream intermediates in the mevalonate cascade, such as farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) and gernaylgerany parophosphate (GGPP). These intermediates are involved in the activation pathway of small Rho GTPase proteins in different cell types. We observed that simvastatin significantly induces dose-dependent apoptosis in three diffe...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research