Mevalonate cascade regulation of airway mesenchymal cell autophagy and apoptosis: a dual role for p53.

ABSTRACT: Statins inhibit the proximal steps of cholesterol biosynthesis, and are linked to health benefits in various conditions, including cancer and lung disease. We have previously investigated apoptotic pathways triggered by statins in airway mesenchymal cells, and identified reduced prenylation of small GTPases as a primary effector mechanism leading to p53-mediated cell death. Here, we extend our studies of statin-induced cell death by assessing endpoints of both apoptosis and autophagy, and investigating their interplay and coincident regulation. Using primary cultured human airway smooth muscle (HASM) and human airway fibroblasts (HAF), autophagy, and autophagosome formation and flux were assessed by transmission electron microscopy, cytochemistry (lysosome number and co-localization with L

SUBMITTER: Ghavami S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3031577 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature