Garcinone E Blocks Autophagy Through Lysosomal Functional Destruction in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Background: High proliferative rate of cancer cells requires autophagy to maintain nutrient supply and intracellular homeostasis. As a result, impairing autophagic flux could be a novel strategy of cancer therapy. Aims and Objectives: In this study, the mechanism of a xanthone derivative isolated from Garcinia mangostana, garcinone E(GE), was investigated. Materials and Methods: Fluorescence assay was used to observe the accumulation and location of autophagosome and lysosome. Flow cytometry with Lyso-tracker red, MDC, and AO staining were applied to evaluate the lysosome accumulation and cellular acidity. Western blot and RT-qPCR were performed to evaluate the protein and mRNA levels, respectively. Results: GE could cause enhancement of LC3 II and p62 and the accumulation of autophagosome and lysosome. Meanwhile, it limited the protein level of Rab7, increased lysosomal pH, and inhibited the maturation of lysosomal hydrolases such as Cathepsin L, therefore blockaded the fusion of autophagosome and lysosome. Moreover, GE acted as a TFEB modulator by downregulating its protein level, which might contribute to autophagy dysfunction in ovarian cancer cells. Conclusions: GE interfered autophagosome–lysosome fusion in cancer cells, which demonstrated its application as an autophagy regulator and a potential therapeutic agent.     

Trehalose-Induced Activation of Autophagy Improves Cardiac Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction

Background

Trehalose (TRE) is a natural, nonreducing disaccharide synthesized by lower organisms. TRE exhibits an extraordinary ability to protect cells against different kinds of stresses through activation of autophagy. However, the effect of TRE on the heart during stress has never been tested.

Impairment of autophagy: From hereditary disorder to drug intoxication

At first, the molecular mechanism of autophagy was unveiled in a unicellular organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast), followed by the discovery that the basic mechanism of autophagy is conserved in multicellular organisms including mammals. Although autophagy was considered to be a non-selective bulk protein degradation system to recycle amino acids during periods of nutrient starvation, it is also believed to be an essential mechanism for the selective elimination of proteins/organelles that are damaged under pathological conditions. Research advances made using autophagy-deficient animals have revealed that impairments of autophagy often underlie the pathogenesis of hereditary disorders such as Danon, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On the other hand, there are many reports that drugs and toxicants, including arsenic, cadmium, paraquat, methamphetamine, and ethanol, induce autophagy during the development of their toxicity on many organs including heart, brain, lung, kidney, and liver. Although the question as to whether autophagic machinery is involved in the execution of cell death or not remains controversial, the current view of the role of autophagy during cell/tissue injury is that it is an important, often essential, cytoprotective reaction; disturbances in cytoprotective autophagy aggravate cell/tissue injuries. The purpose of this review is to provide (1) a gross summarization of autophagy processes, which are becoming more important in the field of toxicology, and (2) examples of important studies reporting the involvement of perturbations in autophagy in cell/tissue injuries caused by acute as well as chronic intoxication.