白藜芦醇通过诱导细胞自噬性死亡抑制宫颈癌的研究

白藜芦醇作为一种广泛存在于药食同源植物中的非黄酮类多酚化合物,其抗肿瘤效果受到广泛关注,但在抑制宫颈癌方面仍缺乏体内效应的实验依据。本研究通过体内实验发现白藜芦醇具有明显的抗肿瘤生长作用,组织水平LC3B、P62和Beclin-1表达改变,推测白藜芦醇可能通过促进癌细胞的过度自噬抑制宫颈癌的进展;进一步通过体外细胞实验验证,发现白藜芦醇诱导自噬相关蛋白的表达,促进自噬小体和自噬溶酶体形成增多,分别与自噬激活剂雷帕霉素、自噬抑制剂巴伐洛霉素A1联用后检测细胞自噬流以及线粒体膜电位和细胞凋亡指标,发现白藜芦醇在自噬激活与自噬抑制的情况下可通过不同方式促进宫颈癌细胞的死亡。     

活性氧诱导细胞凋亡

细胞凋亡是细胞主动的衰老和死亡方式。细胞凋亡过程极其复杂,其生化机制还不十分清楚。用活性氧如H_2O_2、ONOO及脂质过氧化物等可直接诱导某些细胞发生凋亡,抗氧化剂对细胞凋亡有抑制作用。细胞内产生活性氧的部位主要是线粒体电子传递链、黄嘌呤—黄嘌呤氧化酶途径、磷脂酶A_2激活的花生四烯酸代谢途径及精氨酸-NO合成酶途径。外源性活性氧或通过内源性活性氧的生成,导致细胞内氧化还原状态的失衡,诱导某些基因的表达,引起凋亡。     

自噬发生中的ROS调节机制

活性氧是细胞代谢中产生的有很强反应活性的分子,易将邻近分子氧化,并参与细胞内多种信号转导途径,对相关生理过程进行调控．自噬是真核细胞通过溶酶体机制对自身组分进行降解再利用的过程,在细胞应激及疾病发生等过程中发挥重要作用．本文对活性氧和自噬相关调节进行分类介绍,根据新近研究进展,从活性氧参与的自噬性死亡、自噬性存活以及线粒体自噬3方面探讨了相关信号转导机制,对活性氧作为信号分子参与的自噬调控途径做一总结和介绍．     

硫链丝菌素诱导非小细胞肺癌细胞自噬性死亡

自噬在细胞的生命过程中起了非常重要的作用,它能通过清除受损的细胞器和过多的蛋白质以维持细胞内环境稳定基本能量代谢的稳定。然而,自噬的持续激活可导致细胞器以及必需的蛋白质的过度消耗,导致不依赖caspase的自噬性细胞死亡。因此,通过这种自噬途径诱导细胞死亡可能是癌症治疗的一种新方法。在本研究我们发现,硫链丝菌素能够减少非小细胞肺癌PC-9细胞的细胞活力和诱导细胞凋亡。另外,我们发现硫链丝菌素诱导了PC-9细胞自噬。此外,我们也发现硫链丝菌素诱导的细胞凋亡可以被自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-MA)阻止。这些结果表明,硫链丝菌素促进人体非小细胞肺癌细胞的自噬性死亡。在本研究我们的发现也提示硫链丝菌素联合自噬诱导剂可能在临床上对治疗人非小细胞肺癌有效。     

白藜芦醇经PI3K/Akt/mTOR 信号通路诱导人肾癌786-O细胞自噬

白藜芦醇(resveratrol)可抑制人肾癌786-O细胞增殖,并诱导其凋亡,但是白藜芦醇对786-O细胞自噬(autophagy)的影响及机制尚不清楚。为探究其机制,体外培养786-O细胞,采用CCK-8检测786-O细胞活力;TUNEL染色检测786-O细胞凋亡;透射电子显微镜观察786-O细胞自噬体;吖啶橙染色观察786-O细胞自噬小泡;GFP-LC3质粒转染分析观察786-O细胞自噬体;Western印迹检测LC3、beclin-1、PI3K、p-PI3K、Akt、p-Akt、mTOR和p-mTOR的表达。结果显示,白藜芦醇以浓度和时间依赖性的方式抑制786-O细胞活力,并诱导细胞凋亡;与对照组相比,白藜芦醇使786-O细胞自噬增强;Western印迹结果显示,与对照组相比,白藜芦醇组LC3-II/LC3-I和Beclin-1显著增高(P0.01),表明白藜芦醇导致786-O细胞自噬体积累。与对照组相比,白藜芦醇使786-O细胞的p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/Akt和p-mTOR/mTOR显著降低(P0.01),表明白藜芦醇可通过PI3K/Akt/mTOR信号通路增强自噬。综上所述,白藜芦醇通过抑制PI3K/Akt/mTOR信号通路从而诱导786-O细胞自噬。     

MG132抑制肝癌细胞Bel-7404生长的机制研究

MG132(Z-Leu-leu-leu-CHO) 是一种蛋白酶体抑制剂,它可逆地抑制蛋白酶体活性,从而抑制泛素-蛋白酶体通路所介导的蛋白质降解,诱导细胞凋亡．实验研究MG132抑制肝癌细胞Bel-7404生长的机制．采用不同浓度梯度和时间梯度,通过荧光显微镜、透射电子显微镜、Hoechst33342染色、MTT检测、AnnexinⅤ/PI流式细胞术、Western blot分别检测MG132 对Bel-7404细胞的形态学变化、细胞内质网压力变化、自噬泡形成、凋亡小体形成、细胞存活率、细胞凋亡水平、凋亡及自噬信号途径中相关蛋白质表达的影响．结果显示,MG132能明显抑制Bel-7404细胞生长．通过增加内质网压力激活Caspase-12,也可通过线粒体途径调节Bcl-2/Bax水平,促进细胞色素c的释放,两者皆可激活下游效应Caspase-3,剪切PARP,诱导细胞凋亡．同时,MG132可诱导Beclin 1 和LC3B的上调,促使Bel-7404细胞发生自噬,可在透射电镜下观察到自噬泡形成．上述结果表明,MG132作用Bel-7404细胞涉及两类细胞程序性死亡途径：细胞凋亡和自噬．     

肠道病毒感染诱导宿主细胞自噬的研究进展

细胞自噬是一种高度保守的生理代谢途径,是维持细胞稳态的重要过程。一些病毒已经进化出逃逸自噬依赖性降解的方法,甚至进化出利用自噬以促进自身复制的机制。肠道病毒感染细胞时,能激活自噬途径,诱导自噬体的形成。本文对肠道病毒感染与细胞自噬的研究概况与进展作一综述,为进一步解析肠道病毒感染与细胞自噬之间相互作用的机制提供参考。     

EV71诱导人神经细胞SH-SY5Y自噬的分子机制

【背景】EV71感染所致的重症手足口病易导致神经系统并发症,使患儿预后较差,甚至死亡。【目的】从EV71可诱导神经细胞自噬这一现象出发,探索该病毒诱导神经细胞自噬的miRNA机制,探讨EV71损伤神经细胞可能的分子机制。【方法】通过RT-PCR及Westernblot技术,在感染EV71病毒的人神经母细胞瘤细胞SH-SY5Y中检测细胞自噬变化;通过芯片分析细胞感染前后差异表达的miRNA分子,再使用miRNA mimics调节工具明确与EV71诱导神经细胞自噬有关的miRNA分子。【结果】EV71可诱导SH-SY5Y细胞自噬增加,下调细胞内miRNA29b(miR29b)分子的表达水平;当上调细胞内miR29b的表达后,EV71诱导细胞自噬增加的现象可被逆转,病毒复制水平下降。【结论】EV71诱导神经细胞自噬是通过下调miR29b分子的表达水平实现;miR29b不仅与自噬相关,它与EV71病毒复制也存在密切关系。因此,该研究不仅有助于阐明EV71导致神经系统损伤的具体分子机制,还为miR29b成为治疗EV71感染可能的新药物靶点奠定了理论基础。     

花旗松素通过激活Nrf2/HO-1/HIF1α/Autophagy信号通路对H_2O_2所致H9C2细胞氧化应激保护作用的研究

氧化应激(oxidative stress,OS)是缺血性心肌病(ischemic cardiomyopathy,ICM)的主要发病机制之一,抗氧化应激损伤是防治缺血性心肌病的关键。为了探讨花旗松素(taxifolin,tax)对过氧化氢(hydrogen peroxide,H_2O_2)诱导的大鼠心肌细胞H9C2氧化应激的影响及其可能的分子机制,将培养的H9C2心肌细胞随机分为对照组(Control)、氧化应激组(H_2O_2)、tax预处理组(tax+H_2O_2)、tax单独处理组(tax)。通过观察细胞形态的改变,检测细胞内活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS)和丙二醛(malondialdehyde,MDA)的生成、自噬体自噬泡的形成,以及自噬(autophagy)相关蛋白质LC3 I/II、p62的表达,验证tax对氧化应激及自噬的影响。同时,通过检测Nrf2、HO-1、HIF1α的表达,研究可能存在的分子机制。研究发现tax可缓解H_2O_2诱导的H9C2细胞氧化应激,表现为细胞肥大形态缓解、ROS生成降低、MDA产生减少,而且Nrf2/HO-1/HIF1α蛋白的表达升高,自噬水平升高。实验结果表明:tax可能通过激活Nrf2/HO-1/HIF1α/Autophagy信号通路促进自噬及抗氧化应激,从而发挥心肌保护作用。     

内质网应激与自噬及其交互作用影响内皮细胞凋亡

内质网应激是普遍存在于真核细胞中的应激-防御机制。在内环境稳态遭到破坏的情况下,未折叠蛋白质反应的3条信号通路,分别通过增强蛋白质折叠能力、减少蛋白质生成和促进内质网相关蛋白质降解等途径缓解细胞内压力。同时,也通过多种分子信号机制调控细胞凋亡。自噬是一种生理性的降解机制。通过形成自噬泡并与溶酶体结合摄取并水解胞内受损细胞器和蛋白质等,清除代谢废物,维持细胞正常功能。自噬缺陷或过度激活均可导致细胞凋亡或非程序性死亡。自噬的程度和细胞内压力水平有关。内质网应激通过未折叠蛋白质反应和Ca²⁺浓度变化及其相关分子信号调控自噬。自噬又可反馈性调节内质网应激反应,二者相互作用,在内皮细胞凋亡过程中发挥重要作用。未来内质网应激和自噬可作为药物靶点为内皮相关性疾病提供诊疗策略。     

ROS accumulation contributes to abamectin‐induced apoptosis and autophagy via the inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in TM3 Leydig cells

Abamectin (ABA) as one of the worldwide used compounds in agriculture has raised safety concerns on nontarget organism toxicity. However, the study of male reproductive system damage caused by ABA remains unclear. Our aim is to investigate the effect of ABA‐induced cytotoxicity in TM3 Leydig cells and their underlying mechanisms. ABA inhibits TM3 cell viability and proliferation via cell cycle arrested in the G0/G1 phase. In addition, ABA‐induced mitochondrial depolarization leads to an imbalance in Bcl‐2 family expression, causing caspase‐dependent apoptosis in TM3 cells. The increased ratio of cells expression LC3 protein and LC3‐II to LC3‐I indicated the activation of autophagy potentially. Further experiments revealed ABA treatment reduced phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation. Pretreatment with a PI3K/AKT inhibitor, LY294002, mimicked the ABA‐mediated effects on cytotoxicity. Pretreatment with a PI3K/AKT agonist, insulin‐like growth factor‐1, reversed the effects of ABA. ABA caused the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increased intensity of the ROS indicator. However, N‐acetylcysteine as ROS scavengers inhibited ABA‐induced apoptosis and autophagy and reversed these ABA‐mediated effects on PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. On the basis of the above results, it is suggested that ABA exposure induces apoptosis and autophagy in TM3 cells by ROS accumulation to mediate PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway suppression.     

Apoptotic Cell Death Induced by Resveratrol Is Partially Mediated by the Autophagy Pathway in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells

Resveratrol (trans-3,4,5’ –trihydroxystilbene) is an active compound in food, such as red grapes, peanuts, and berries. Resveratrol exhibits an anticancer effect on various human cancer cells. However, the mechanism of resveratrol-induced anti-cancer effect at the molecular level remains to be elucidated. In this study, the mechanism underlying the anti-cancer effect of resveratrol in human ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3 and Caov-3) was investigated using various molecular biology techniques, such as flow cytometry, western blotting, and RNA interference, with a major focus on the potential role of autophagy in resveratrol-induced apoptotic cell death. We demonstrated that resveratrol induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which triggers autophagy and subsequent apoptotic cell death. Resveratrol induced ATG5 expression and promoted LC3 cleavage. The apoptotic cell death induced by resveratrol was attenuated by both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of autophagy. The autophagy inhibitor chloroquine, which functions at the late stage of autophagy, significantly reduced resveratrol-induced cell death and caspase 3 activity in human ovarian cancer cells. We also demonstrated that targeting ATG5 by siRNA also suppressed resveratrol-induced apoptotic cell death. Thus, we concluded that a common pathway between autophagy and apoptosis exists in resveratrol-induced cell death in OVCAR-3 human ovarian cancer cells.     

Resveratrol Inhibits Breast Cancer Stem-Like Cells and Induces Autophagy via Suppressing Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Resveratrol, a natural polyphenolic compound, is abundantly found in plant foods and has been extensively studied for its anti-cancer properties. Given the important role of CSCs (Cancer Stem Cells) in breast tumorigenesis and progression, it is worth investigating the effects of resveratrol on CSCs. The article is an attempt to investigate the effects of resveratrol on breast CSCs. Resveratrol significantly inhibits the proliferation of BCSCs (breast cancer stem-like cells) isolated from MCF-7 and SUM159, and decreased the percentage of BCSCs population, consequently reduced the size and number of mammospheres in non-adherent spherical clusters. Accordingly, the injection of resveratrol (100 mg/kg/d) in NOD/SCID (nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient) mice effectively inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors and reduced BCSC population in tumor cells. After the reimplantation of primary tumor cells into the secondary mice for 30 d, all 6 control inoculations produced tumors, while tumor cells derived from resveratrol-treated mice only caused 1 tumor of 6 inoculations. Further studies by TEM (Transmission electron microscopy) analysis, GFP-LC3-II puncta formation assay and western blot for LC3-II, Beclin1 and Atg 7, showed that resveratrol induces autophagy in BCSCs. Moreover, resveratrol suppresses Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in BCSCs; over-expression of β-catenin by transfecting the plasmid markedly reduced resveratrol-induced cytotoxicity and autophagy in BCSCs. Our findings indicated that resveratrol inhibits BCSCs and induces autophagy via suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.     

Gartanin induces cell cycle arrest and autophagy and suppresses migration involving PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MAPK signalling pathway in human glioma cells

In central nervous system, glioma is the most common primary brain tumour. The diffuse migration and rapid proliferation are main obstacles for successful treatment. Gartanin, a natural xanthone of mangosteen, suppressed proliferation, migration and colony formation in a time‐ and concentration‐dependent manner in T98G glioma cells but not in mouse normal neuronal HT22 cells. Gartanin, at low micromole, led to cell cycle arrest in G1 phase accompanied by inhibited expression level of G1 cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin D1, while increased expression level of cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1. In addition, the secretion and activity of matrix metalloproteinases 2/9 (MMP‐2/‐9) were significantly suppressed in T98G cells treated with gartanin, and it might result from modulating mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling pathway in T98G glioma cells. Moreover, gartanin significantly induced autophagy in T98G cells and increased GFP‐LC3 punctate fluorescence accompanied by the increased expression level of Beclin 1 and LC3‐II, while suppressed expression level of p62. Gartanin treatment resulted in obvious inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway, which is important in modulating autophagy. Notably, gartanin‐mediated anti‐viability was significantly abrogated by autophagy inhibitors including 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) and chloroquine (CQ). These results indicate that anti‐proliferation effect of gartanin in T98G cells is most likely via cell cycle arrest modulated by autophagy, which is regulated by PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway, while anti‐migration effect is most likely via suppression of MMP‐2/‐9 activity which is involved in MAPK signalling pathway.     

Streptococcus pneumoniae Induces Autophagy through the Inhibition of the PI3K-I/Akt/mTOR Pathway and ROS Hypergeneration in A549 Cells

The present study focused on the action mechanism of S. pneumoniae (Sp) in inducing autophagy in human alveolar epithelial cells. Sp, a gram-positive extracellular bacterium, activates autophagy with considerably increased microtuble-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) punctation in A549 cells. The accumulation of typical autophagosomes and conjugation of LC3 to phosphatidylethanolamine were observed in Sp-infected cells as an indication of autophagy. Using the pneumolysin (PLY) mutant, we successfully demonstrated that PLY is involved in initiating autophagy without affecting the expression levels of PI3K-III and Beclin1. PLY-mediated autophagy depends on the inhibition of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) pathway. Furthermore, Sp could also lead to the reactive oxygen species (ROS) hypergeneration in A549 cells. Taken together, Sp infection-induced autophagy is PLY-mediated through ROS hypergeneration and mTOR inhibition. PI3K-I and rapamycin (autophagy inducers) enhanced bacterial clearance, whereas wortmannin (autophagy inhibitor) and acetylcysteine (ROS inhibitor) reduced intracellular bacteria clearance. Thus, Sp-induced autophagy represents a host-protective mechanism, providing new insight into the pathogenesis of respiratory tract Sp infection.     

Insulin secretion impairment induced by rosuvastatin partly though autophagy in INS‐1E cells

Statins are used extensively for the clinical treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies suggest that statins increase the risk of new‐onset diabetes mellitus (NODM). However, the mechanisms of statin‐induced NODM remain unclear. The present study investigated the effects of autophagy on insulin secretion impairment induced by rosuvastatin (RS) in rat insulinoma cells (INS‐1E) cells. INS‐1E cells were cultured and treated with RS at different concentrations (0.2–20 μM) for 24 h. Insulin secretion in INS‐1E cells was detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, and the co‐localization of microtubule‐associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and lysosome‐associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP‐2) was observed by immunofluorescence staining. Western blotting was used to assess the conversion of LC3 and p62. The results showed that the insulin secretion and cell viability decrease induced by RS treatment for 24 h occurred in a dose‐dependent manner in INS‐1E cells. RS significantly inhibited the expression of LC3‐II but increased the protein expression of p62. Simultaneously, RS diminished the co‐localization of LC3‐II and LAMP‐2 fluorescence signals. These results suggested that RS‐inhibited autophagy in INS‐1E cells. Rapamycin, an autophagy agonist, reversed the insulin secretion and cell viability suppression induced by RS in INS‐1E cells. RS also decreased the phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The results indicated that RS impairs insulin secretion in INS‐1E cells, which may be partly due to the inhibition of autophagy via an mTOR‐dependent pathway.     

Interconnections between autophagy and the coagulation cascade in hepatocellular carcinoma

Autophagy has an important role in tumor biology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent studies demonstrated that tissue factor (TF) combined with coagulation factor VII (FVII) has a pathological role by activating a G-protein-coupled receptor called protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) for tumor growth. The present study aimed to investigate the interactions of autophagy and the coagulation cascade in HCC. Seventy HCC patients who underwent curative liver resection were recruited. Immunohistochemical staining and western blotting were performed to determine TF, FVII, PAR2 and light chain 3 (LC3A/B) expressions in tumors and their contiguous normal regions. We found that the levels of autophagic marker LC3A/B-II and coagulation proteins (TF, FVII and PAR2) were inversely correlated in human HCC tissues. Treatments with TF, FVII or PAR2 agonist downregulated LC3A/B-II with an increased level of mTOR in Hep3B cells; in contrast, knockdown of TF, FVII or PAR2 increased LC3A/B. Furthermore, mTOR silencing restored the impaired expression of LC3A/B-II in TF-, FVII- or PAR2-treated Hep3B cells and activated autophagy. Last, as an in vivo correlate, we administered TF, FVII or PAR2 agonist in a NOD/severe combined immunodeficiency xenograft model and showed decreased LC3A/B protein levels in HepG2 tumors with treatments. Overall, our present study demonstrated that TF, FVII and PAR2 regulated autophagy mainly via mTOR signaling. The interaction of coagulation and autophagic pathways may provide potential targets for further therapeutic application in HCC.     

Resveratrol- induced apoptosis is mediated by p53-dependent pathway in Hep G2 cells

Resveratrol, a phytoalexin found in many plants, has been reported to possess a wide range of pharmacological properties and is one of the promising chemopreventive agents for cancer. Here, we examined the antiproliferation effect of resveratrol in two human liver cancer cell lines, Hep G2 and Hep 3B. Our results showed that resveratrol inhibited cell growth in p53-positive Hep G2 cells only. This anticancer effect was a result of cellular apoptotic death induced by resveratrol via the p53-dependent pathway. Here we demonstrated that the resveratrol-treated cells were arrested in G1 phase and were associated with the increase of p21 expression. In addition, we also illustrated that the resveratrol-treated cells had enhanced Bax expression but they were not involved in Fas/APO-1 apoptotic signal pathway. In contrast, the p53-negative Hep 3B cells treated with resveratrol did not show the antiproliferation effect neither did they show significant changes in p21 nor Fas/APO-1 levels. In summary, our study demonstrated that the resveratrol effectively inhibited cell growth and induced programmed cell death in Hepatoma cells on a molecular basis. Furthermore, these results implied that resveratrol might also be a new potent chemopreventive drug candidate for liver cancer as it played an important role to trigger p53-mediated molecules involved in the mechanism of p53-dependent apoptotic signal pathway.     

Corilagin inhibits breast cancer growth via reactive oxygen species‐dependent apoptosis and autophagy

Corilagin is a component of Phyllanthus urinaria extract and has been found of possessing anti‐inflammatory, anti‐oxidative, and anti‐tumour properties in clinic treatments. However, the underlying mechanisms in anti‐cancer particularly of its induction of cell death in human breast cancer remain undefined. Our research found that corilagin‐induced apoptotic and autophagic cell death depending on reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human breast cancer cell, and it occurred in human breast cancer cell (MCF‐7) only comparing with normal cells. The expression of procaspase‐8, procaspase‐3, PARP, Bcl‐2 and procaspase‐9 was down‐regulated while caspase‐8, cleaved PARP, caspase‐9 and Bax were up‐regulated after corilagin treatment, indicating apoptosis mediated by extrinsic and mitochondrial pathways occurred in MCF‐7 cell. Meanwhile, autophagy mediated by suppressing Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway was detected with an increase in autophagic vacuoles and LC3‐II conversion. More significantly, inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine diphosphate salt (CQ) remarkably enhanced apoptosis, while the caspase inhibitor z‐VAD‐fmk failed in affecting autophagy, suggesting that corilagin‐induced autophagy functioned as a survival mechanism in MCF‐7 cells. In addition, corilagin induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, when reduced by ROS scavenger NAC, apoptosis and autophagy were both down‐regulated. Nevertheless, in SK‐BR3 cell which expressed RIP3, necroptosis inhibitor Nec‐1 could not alleviate cell death induced by corilagin, indicating necroptosis was not triggered. Subcutaneous tumour growth in nude mice was attenuated by corilagin, consisting with the results in vitro. These results imply that corilagin inhibits cancer cell proliferation through inducing apoptosis and autophagy which regulated by ROS release.     

Eldecalcitol induces apoptosis and autophagy in human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells by accumulating ROS to suppress the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway

Eldecalcitol (ED-71) is a new type of vitamin D analog, and vitamin D has been reported to have therapeutic effects in infectious disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer. However, the anti-cancer effect of ED-71 remains unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the anti-cancer effect of ED-71 in human osteosarcoma cells and to identify the related mechanism. The CCK8 assay results showed that ED-71 inhibited MG-63 cell viability in dose and time dependent manners. Cloning and Transwell invasion assays showed that ED-71 inhibited clonal and invasion ability of MG-63 cells. Flow cytometry results showed ED-71 the G2/M cycle arrest rate, apoptosis, and intracellular ROS. Western blot was used to detect cleaved-caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, LC3-II/LC3-I, and P62 levels and the mTOR pathway. The increase of LC3-II and P62 indicated that ED-71 induced the formation of autophagosomes and inhibited autophagy flux. Furthermore, ED-71-induced apoptosis was weakened after adding 3-methyladenine and ED-71-induced early autophagy was weakened by caspase-3 inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK), which indicated the two processes active each other in the presence of ED-71. Furthermore, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) pretreatment reversed the ED-71-treatment outcomes, including increased apoptosis and autophagy and inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. In conclusion, our results reveal that ED-71 induced G2/M arrest, apoptosis and autophagy in MG-63 cells by accumulating ROS to suppress the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway