The association between RhoB and caspase-2: changes with lovastatin-induced apoptosis

Because cytoskeletal actin is regulated, in part, by Rho, and because Rho and caspases are involved in apoptosis, we sought to determine whether there was an association between RhoB and caspase-2. A RhoB-caspase-2 association was consistently demonstrated in neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes with Western Blotting, either after immunoprecipitation with RhoB followed by immunoblotting with caspase-2, or in reciprocal experiments after immuno precipitation with caspase-2 and immunoblotting with RhoB (n = 14). Although the RhoB-caspase-2 complex was constitutively present, the link between RhoB and caspase-2 may be operative in apoptosis because the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin increased the RhoB-caspase complex, especially in the nuclear fraction of the cell, with a peak occurrence 2 h after treatment. This association was unaffected by the caspase-2 inhibitor zVDVAD. Lovastatin produced apoptosis that was accompanied by an activation of caspase-2, as demonstrated by its immunohistochemistry and by the fact that the caspase-2 inhibitor zVDVAD reduced lovastatin-induced apoptosis. Lovastatin induced dramatic changes in cell morphology and a reduction in F-actin. Immunoblotting for actin suggests that lovastatin does not induce a degradation of the actin molecule, but rather affects filamentous F-actin. Caspase-2 inhibition with zVDVAD reduced lovastatin-induced alteration in cytoskeletal F-actin. The Rho inhibitor, Clostridium difficile toxin B, blunted the ability of lovastatin to induce apoptosis. In summary, these data show a previously unrecognized association between RhoB and caspase-2 in the cytosolic and nuclear fractions, which has ramifications for processes regulated by RhoB and caspase-2, including apoptosis.