Abstract
Background
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate is a natural polyphenolic compound that induces apoptosis in papillary thyroid cancer cells. However, its underlying molecular mechanism was not completely clarified.
Objectives
The present study demonstrated the role of apoptosis and autophagy in EGCG-treated papillary thyroid cancer cells and the relationship between these processes.
Results
EGCG significantly suppressed the viability of TPC-1 papillary thyroid cancer cells at an IC50 of 17.2 μM. EGCG induced TPC-1 cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S phase and downregulated the protein expression of cyclin A and cyclin-dependent kinase-2. EGCG decreased reactive oxygen species levels, upregulated Bax expression, downregulated Bcl-2 expression and increased cytochrome C levels in the cytosol. Treatment with EGCG also increased the levels of cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 9 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. EGCG induced an autophagic response via the upregulation of the autophagy-related protein LC3-II and suppression of the AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Autophagy inhibition further enhanced EGCG-induced cell apoptosis and ROS suppression, which indicated that autophagy played a cytoprotective role in EGCG-treated TPC-1 cells.
Conclusion
Taken together, these results demonstrated that autophagy inhibition was beneficial to EGCG–mediated apoptosis in papillary thyroid cancer cells.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 81370889).
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Chaoming Mao, Ling Bu and Tingting Zheng were responsible for the conception and design of the study, for analysis and interpretation of data and for drafting and revising the manuscript. Fei Wu, Xiao Mou, Chengcheng Xu, Xuan Luo and Qingyan Lu were responsible for the conception and design of the study, data acquisition, interpretation of data and review of the manuscript. Liyang Dong and Xuefeng Wang were responsible for the conception and design of the study, for data acquisition and for reviewing the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.
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Ling Bu declares she has no conflict of interest. Tingting Zheng declares she has no conflict of interest. Chaoming Mao declares he has no conflict of interest. Fei Wu declares she has no conflict of interest. Xiao Mou declares she has no conflict of interest. Chengcheng Xu declares she has no conflict of interest. Xuan Luo declares she has no conflict of interest. Qingyan Lu declares she has no conflict of interest. Liyang Dong declares he has no conflict of interest. Xuefeng Wang declares she has no conflict of interest.
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The study includes only laboratory studies on a stable established cell line. No ethical or institutional approval was required.
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Bu, L., Zheng, T., Mao, C. et al. Autophagy inhibition contributes to epigallocatechin-3-gallate-mediated apoptosis in papillary thyroid cancer cells. Mol. Cell. Toxicol. 17, 533–542 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-021-00164-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-021-00164-3