Curcumin derivative HBC induces autophagy through activating AMPK signal in A549 cancer cells

Abstract

Curcumin exhibits growth-suppressive activity against a variety of cancer cells, but low bioavailability restricts its application in chemotherapeutic trials. A synthetic curcumin derivative hydrazinobenzoylcurcumin (HBC) had been indicated that it could inhibit cell growth in A549 lung cancer cells via cell autophagy in our previous report. The present research aims to investigate the effect of HBC on the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling and whether AMPK signaling is involved in HBC-induced autophagy in A549 cells. The autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was used to block the inhibitory effect of HBC on the growth of A549 cells by acridine orange assay. The phosphorylations of AMPK and its downstream factor Acetyl CoA Carboxylase (ACC) were characterized in HBCtreated A549 cells with western blot analysis. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of the AMPK signaling pathway by Compound C impairs the autophagyinducing effect of HBC. Our data indicates that HBC could activate the AMPK signal and induce AMPKmediated autophagy, which plays an important role in the inhibiting effect of HBC in A549 cells.