Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Assessing Autophagic Flux by Measuring LC3, p62, and LAMP1 Co-localization Using Multispectral Imaging Flow Cytometry
Published on: July 21, 2017
Clarithromycin attenuates autophagy in myeloma cells
Miki Nakamura1, Yoshitaka Kikukawa, Motohiro Takeya
1Department of Hematology, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
Abstract:
It has been reported that clarithromycin (CAM) augments the anti-tumor activity of thalidomide against multiple myeloma (MM) cells, while the mechanism remains unclear. A myeloma cell line or primary myeloma cells were treated with CAM. Autophagy was analyzed by morphological changes, LC3 expression and lysotracker staining. CAM induced vacuoles in the cytoplasm of MM cells which resembled autolysosomes. The manifestation of the CAM-induced vacuoles was blocked by treatment with PI3-kinase inhibitor. CAM induced an accumulation of LC3-II without affecting the mTOR or AKT pathways, eventually leading to cell death. CAM may halt the autophagy process after fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. This phenomenon may explain how CAM, combined with thalidomide, augments the cytotoxic effects of the latter on MM cells and suggests that modification of autophagy might represent a new approach for therapy of MM.
Related Concept Videos
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Myasthenia Gravis: Overview and Treatment
These antibodies interfere with the function of the nicotinic receptors in three ways: by binding to the receptor and disrupting acetylcholine binding; by causing cross-linking of receptors which leads...
Myasthenia Gravis ll: Pathophysiology
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and pro-apoptotic...
Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules