Ras-related GTPase Rhob represses NF-kappaB signaling

rhoB encoding a Ras-related GTPase is immediate-early inducible by genotoxic treatments, indicating that it is part of the cellular stress response. Here, we investigated the influence of RhoB on signal pathways that are rapidly evoked by genotoxic compounds. The data obtained show that wild-type RhoB neither affects activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases nor AP-1-dependent gene expression. However, RhoB inhibited both basal and genotoxic agent-stimulated activity of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB). Thus, RhoB attenuated alkylation-induced increase in the DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB and abrogated NF-kappaB-driven gene expression. Furthermore, RhoB inhibited decrease in the cellular amount of IkappaBalpha after genotoxic stress as well as after tumor necrosis factor alpha and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol acetate treatment. This indicates that RhoB represses NF-kappaB activation by inhibiting dissociation and subsequent degradation of IkappaBalpha. On the basis of the data, we suggest that RhoB is a novel negative regulator of NF-kappaB signaling.