Fig. 6. Deltarasin induced autophagy through the activation of AMPK-mTOR pathway in A549 cells.

. (A) A549 cells were treated with 0, 1.25, 2.5, and 5 μM deltarasin for 24 h and the levels of p-mTOR, mTOR, p-P70S6K, P70S6K, p-AMPK, AMPK, and GAPDH were evaluated by western blot. (B) Cells were treated with vehicle, 5 μM deltarasin, 5 μM Compound C, or a combination of both for 24 h, then the relative levels of LC3 were analyzed by western blot with densitometry. Representative western blot data were shown. The results were expressed as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ***P < 0.001 when compared with control and **P < 0.01 when compared with the deltarasin-treated alone group. (C) A549 cells were treated with 5 μM of deltarasin in the presence or absence of lysosomal protease inhibitors (50 nM) bafilomycin A for 24 h. Cell lysates were analyzed by western blot for LC3 conversion. Data were expressed as a fold change relative to the DMSO-treated negative control. Bar charts were representatives of three independent experiments