Figure 10.

Chloroquine blocks autophagy induced by everolimus and consequently strengthens the apoptosis induced by the latter. mTOR is involved in the apoptosis and autophagy regulation: everolimus inhibits the mTOR pathway triggering both apoptosis and early autophagy; the addition of chloroquine inhibits late autophagy and consequently blocks autophagic flux thus inducing a switch from autophagy to apoptosis. These effects mediate a potentiation of the growth inhibition of renal cancer cells due to the abrogation of a protective anti-apoptotic and autophagic pathway.