Plumbagin induces apoptotic and autophagic cell death through inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in human non-small cell lung cancer cells
journal contribution
posted on 2014-03-28, 00:00authored byY C Li, S M He, Z X He, M Li, Y Yang, J X Pang, X Zhang, K Chow, Q Zhou, Wei DuanWei Duan, Z W Zhou, T Yang, G H Huang, A Liu, J X Qiu, J P Liu, S F Zhou
Plumbagin (PLB) has shown anti-cancer activity but the mechanism is unclear. This study has found that PLB has a potent pro-apoptotic and pro-autophagic effect on A549 and H23 cells. PLB arrests cells in G2/M phase, and increases the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species in both cell lines. PLB dose-dependently induces autophagy through inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway as indicated by reduced phosphorylation of Akt and mTOR. Inhibition or induction of autophagy enhances PLB-induced apoptosis. There is crosstalk between PLB-induced apoptosis and autophagy. These findings indicate that PLB initiates both apoptosis and autophagy in NSCLC cells through coordinated pathways.