Rho mediates calcium-dependent activation of p38α and subsequent excitotoxic cell death

Excitotoxic neuronal death contributes to many neurological disorders, and involves calcium influx and stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs) such as p38α. There is indirect evidence that the small Rho-family GTPases Rac and cdc42 are involved in neuronal death subsequent to the withdrawal of nerve growth factor (NGF), whereas Rho is involved in the inhibition of neurite regeneration and the release of the amyloidogenic Aβ 42 peptide. Here we show that Rho is activated in rat neurons by conditions that elevate intracellular calcium and in the mouse cerebral cortex during ischemia. Rho is required for the rapid glutamate-induced activation of p38α and ensuing neuronal death. The ability of RhoA to activate p38α was not expected, and it was specific to primary neuronal cultures. The expression of active RhoA alone not only activated p38α but also induced neuronal death that was sensitive to the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, showing that RhoA was sufficient to induce the excitotoxic pathway. Therefore, Rho is an essential component of the excitotoxic cell death pathway.