Autophagy, a process of regulated turnover of cellular constituents, is essential for normal growth control but may be defective under pathological conditions. The Ras/PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway negatively regulates autophagy. Ras signaling has been documented in a large number of human cancers. In this in-vitro study we examined the effect of the Ras inhibitor Salirasib (S-trans, trans-farnes...

Misfolded and aberrant proteins have been found to be associated with myocardial cell injury. Thus, increased clearance of misfolded or aggregated proteins via autophagy might be a potential option in preventing myocardial cell injury. Sevoflurane may ameliorate myocardial cell injury by affecting sirtuin 1- (SIRT1-) mediated autophagy. Rat models with myocardial cell injury were induced by lim...

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs)-induced mesangial cell death is one of major causes of glomerulus dysfunction in diabetic nephropathy. Both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy are adaptive responses in cells under environmental stress and participate in the renal diseases. The role of ER stress and autophagy in AGEs-induced mesangial cell death is still unclear. Here, we inve...

PURPOSE Autophagy has attracted attentions as a novel mechanism for tumor development. In this study Human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3 and multidrug-resistant phenotype SKVCR cells were used and the roles of autophagy in radiation-induced cell death were analyzed. METHODS AND MATERIALS Cell viability was examined by colony formation and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, 3MA and ZVAD we...

Autophagy plays an important role in cellular homeostasis through the disposal and recycling of cellular components. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play major roles in cancer initiation, progression, and drug resistance. Rottlerin (Rott) is an active molecule isolated from Mallotus philippinensis, a medicinal plant used in Ayurvedic Medicine for anti-allergic and anti-helminthic treatments, demonstra...

Autophagy is a self-defense mechanism that provides nutrition and energy for cell survival by recycling the cytoplasm and organelles. Hence, chemotherapy is rendered less effective against cancer cells. Evodiamine is a previously described biological agent that possesses a cytotoxic activity in multiple cancer cells. However, little is known about evodiamine-induced autophagy in Lewis lung carc...

Autophagy is a catabolic process involved in cellular homeostasis. Autophagy is increased above homeostatic levels by chemotherapy, and this can either promote or inhibit tumor growth. We previously demonstrated that aerosol gemcitabine (GCB) has a therapeutic effect against osteosarcoma (OS) lung metastases. However, some tumor cells failed to respond to the treatment and persisted as isolated...

Animal studies have shown that autophagy is essential in the process of obesity. Here, we performed daily injection of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) in mice and found that systemic administration of CQ blocks high-fat diet-induced obesity. To investigate the potential underlying molecular mechanism, we employed genetic and pharmacological interventions in cultured preadipocytes to in...

Endotoxemia in sepsis, characterized by systemic inflammation, is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized patients, especially in intensive care unit; however the underlying pathogenesis is poorly understood. Autophagy is a conserved, cellular catabolic pathway that plays crucial roles in cellular homeostasis including the maintenance of cellular function and viability. The r...

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells has an important role in the pathophysiology of intraocular fibrotic disorders, which may cause vision impairment and blindness. Autophagy, an intracellular homeostatic pathway, contributes to the physiological and pathological processes of RPE. Furthermore, autoph...