Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy
07:20

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy

Published on: January 31, 2025

1.4K

Oleanolic acid induces protective autophagy in cancer cells through the JNK and mTOR pathways

Jia Liu1, Lanhong Zheng2, Jiateng Zhong3

  • 1Institutes of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China.

Oncology Reports
|June 11, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Oleanolic acid (OA) triggers protective autophagy in cancer cells, hindering its tumor-killing effects. Blocking this autophagy enhances OA's cancer-fighting potential, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Autophagy is a cellular process for protein degradation crucial for homeostasis.
  • Cancer cells utilize autophagy, which can promote or inhibit survival depending on context.
  • Oleanolic acid (OA) induces apoptosis in cancer cells, but resistance mechanisms are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of autophagy in cancer cell resistance to Oleanolic acid (OA).
  • To explore the signaling pathways involved in OA-induced autophagy.
  • To determine if inhibiting autophagy can enhance OA's anti-cancer effects.

Main Methods:

  • Assessing autophagy markers (LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, LC3 granulation) in OA-treated cancer cells.
  • Evaluating the effect of autophagy inhibition on OA-induced apoptosis.
  • Analyzing the involvement of JNK and mTOR signaling pathways in OA response.

Main Results:

  • OA dose- and time-dependently induced autophagy in cancer cells.
  • Inhibiting autophagy potentiated OA's pro-apoptotic activity.
  • OA affected JNK and mTOR signaling, and interfering with these pathways modulated autophagy and apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • OA induces protective autophagy in cancer cells, which counteracts its anti-tumor effects.
  • Blocking autophagy enhances the tumor suppressor activity of OA.
  • Targeting autophagy represents a potential strategy to improve OA-based cancer therapy.

More Related Videos

Evaluating Autophagy Levels in Two Different Pancreatic Cell Models Using LC3 Immunofluorescence08:07

Evaluating Autophagy Levels in Two Different Pancreatic Cell Models Using LC3 Immunofluorescence

Published on: April 28, 2023

2.4K
Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen19:44

Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen

Published on: May 30, 2012

18.2K

Related Concept Videos

Autophagic Cell Death01:18

Autophagic Cell Death

Christian de Duve discovered “autophagy,” a process in which cellular components are engulfed by membrane-bound organelles called autophagosomes. The autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to digest the enclosed contents. Autophagy is generally activated in cells to prevent cell death. However, cell death is triggered when the damage is beyond repair.
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
3.3K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.6K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

1.5K
Autophagy01:27

Autophagy

Autophagy is a self-digesting process by which a cell protects itself from threats both within and outside the cell, ranging from abnormal proteins to invading bacteria. In this process, obsolete components of the cell and invading microbes are degraded by hydrolytic enzymes active in an acidic environment of the lysosomal lumen.
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
5.0K
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
6.2K
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome01:36

Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome

Eukaryotic cells use different mechanisms to eliminate toxic waste obsolete and worn-out substances. Lysosomes play a pivotal role in this, and hence, these substances are carried to the lysosome from other parts of the cell and extracellular space through different pathways. The most elaborately studied pathways to the lysosome are the endocytic pathways.
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
7.6K