α-Solanine induces ROS-mediated autophagy through activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress and inhibition of Akt/mTOR pathway.

ABSTRACT: α-Solanine is a glycoalkaloid found in species of the nightshade family including potato. It was primarily reported to have toxic effects in humans. However, there is a growing body of literature demonstrating in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of α-solanine. Most of these studies have shown activation of apoptosis as the underlying mechanism in antitumor activity of α-solanine. In this study, we report α-solanine as a potential inducer of autophagy, which may act synergistically or in parallel with apoptosis to exert its cytotoxic effect. Induction of autophagy was demonstrated by several assays including electron microscopy, immunoblotting of autophagy markers and immunofluorescence for LC3 (microtubule-associated protein 1 (MAP1) light chain-3) puncta. α-Solanine-induced autophagi

SUBMITTER: Hasanain M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4558510 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature