Figure 5. Baicalein inhibits autophagy.

A) BC caused p62/SQSTM1 accumulation more robustly than Blin. B) BC inhibited autophagy flux induced by CCI779 in TICs and Huh7 cells as assessed by LC3II levels. TICs and Huh7 cells were treated with indicated compounds for 2 hr and lysates were immunoblotted with anti-LC3 antibody. C) TICs were treated with indicated concentrations of BC in the presence of CCI779 (5 μM) or control. D) BC inhibited autophagosome formation. TICs were treated with indicated compounds for 2 hr and fixed for immunocytochemistry with anti-LC3 antibody. The number of LC3 puncta in each cell were counted as indication of autophagosome formation. Averages and SEM values derived from 110 cells in triplicate chambers are shown below each figure. Scale bars represent 50 μm. E) Chloroquine (CQ) achieves similar chemosensitization with CCI779 as BC. TICs were treated in spheroid forming conditions for 7 days and replated in normal tissue culture conditions for another 5 days. The cells were stained with crystal violet and quantitated. Error bars are shown in SEM with triplicate measurements. One-way ANOVA analysis with Bonferroni post-test was performed to determine statistical significance between different experimental groups. *p<0.05 and **p<0.01.