Statins inhibit T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell adhesion and migration through Rap1b

Statins are known to inhibit signaling of Ras superfamily GTPases and reduce T cell adhesion to ICAM-1. Here, we address the hypothesis that statins affect T cell adhesion and migration by modulating the function of specific GTPases. Statins inhibit the synthesis of mevalonic acid, which is required for farnesyl and geranylgeranyl isoprenoid synthesis. Ras superfamily GTPases are post-translationally isoprenylated to facilitate their anchorage to membranes, where they function to stimulate signal transduction processes. We demonstrate that 1 microM statin inhibits the adhesion, migration, and chemotaxis of the T-ALL cell line CCRF-CEM and TEM of CCRF-CEM and PEER T-ALL cells, but higher statin concentrations are needed to inhibit adhesion of primary T cells. Similar effects are observed following treatment with GGTI-298 or RNA interference-mediated knockdown of Rap1b but not Rap1a, Rac1, Rac2, RhoA, or Cdc42. Statins also alter Rap1 activity and Rap1b localization. Rap1 levels are higher in primary T cells than T-ALL cells, which could explain their reduced sensitivity to statins. These results demonstrate for the first time that the closely related Rap1a and Rap1b isoforms have different functions and suggest that statins or Rap1b depletion could be used to reduce tissue invasion in T-ALL.