Inhibiting autophagy increases epirubicin's cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells.

ABSTRACT: Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrinotherapy are documented to induce autophagy among breast cancer cells, but the role of autophagy in this disease has been attributed as cytoprotective as well as tumor-suppressing. Thus we studied MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 breast cancer cell lines treated with epirubicin (EPI) to assess autophagy and apoptosis. We found out that EPI induced apoptosis and autophagy in both cell lines. The lysosomal inhibitor bafilomycin A1 inhibited cellular autophagy and enhanced EPI-triggered apoptosis, perhaps due to inhibition of autolysosome formation, which then inhibited autophagic effects of engulfing and clearing damaged mitochondria. This inhibition increased mitochondrial cytochrome C release which augmented epirubicin-induced caspase-dependent apoptosis and c

SUBMITTER: Guo W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5132286 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature