mTOR信号通路诱导的自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用研究

目的:探讨自噬在心肌细胞缺氧损伤中的作用及分子机制。方法:体外分离培养乳鼠心肌细胞,体外建立缺氧/去血清(H/SD)模型以模拟在体的缺血环境。分别给予自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3MA,5 mM)和mTOR抑制剂雷帕霉素(1.0μg/L)调节心肌细胞自噬水平。分别采用TUNEL染色检测心肌细胞凋亡,Western blot方法检测心肌细胞蛋白表达水平。结果:H/SD损伤可以显著诱导心肌细胞自噬水平(P0.05),并且细胞自噬水平可以被3-MA及雷帕霉素调节。同时,H/SD可以显著增加心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05),而给予3-MA抑制自噬水平可以减少细胞凋亡(P0.05)。相反,雷帕霉素增加自噬同样可以加重缺氧导致的心肌细胞凋亡(P0.05)。H/SD损伤过程中,心肌细胞mTOR信号通路被激活,而自噬抑制剂3-MA可以显著提高缺氧条件下心肌细胞中p-mTOR(Ser2448)的表达水平(P0.05),并增加mTOR下游分子p-p70S6k(P0.05)和p-S6(P0.05)的表达。结论:mTOR信号通路诱导的细胞自噬可能参与了缺氧损伤诱导的心肌细胞凋亡。     

家蚕血液对BmE-SWU1细胞凋亡的抑制作用

以家蚕胚胎细胞系BmE-SWU1细胞为体外模型,用不同浓度的放线菌素D处理家蚕BmE-SWU1细胞进行家蚕细胞凋亡研究.结果表明:放线菌素D诱导家蚕细胞凋亡的作用呈时间、剂量依赖性.分别用浓度为0、50、100和200 ng/ml的放线菌素D处理BmE-SWU1细胞12 h后,凋亡峰所占比例分别为1.82%、1.26%、8.21%和12.31%.当放线菌素D的浓度为100 ng/ml时,诱导家蚕BmE-SWU1细胞凋亡的效果显著;家蚕血液对放线菌素D诱导的家蚕BmE-SWU1细胞凋亡具有明显的抑制作用.     

雷帕霉素促进胚胎干细胞向心肌细胞分化

目的雷帕霉素是小分子mTOR抑制剂,可激活细胞自噬。本研究检测了雷帕霉素对胚胎干细胞(ES细胞)向心肌分化的影响。方法采用拟胚体(embryoid body, EB)加抗坏血酸诱导ES细胞向心肌分化。悬浮诱导阶段添加自噬激动剂雷帕霉素或抑制剂羟氯喹,通过免疫印迹检测LC3蛋白剪切以监测细胞自噬水平,通过检测EB球的心肌搏动百分比以及心肌分化标志物troponin-T和α-actinin的表达来评估细胞分化效率。采用real-time PCR检测心肌分化转录因子Mef2c和Isl1m RNA表达,免疫印迹法检测Oct4表达,进一步阐释雷帕霉素的效应机制。结果雷帕霉素能够诱导自噬,促进LC3剪切,促进EB球产生自发搏动,增强心肌分化标志基因表达。机制研究发现,雷帕霉素促进心肌转录因子Mef2c和Isl1 mRNA的表达和Oct4在分化细胞的下调。而自噬抑制剂羟氯喹能拮抗雷帕霉素的上述效应。结论雷帕霉素诱导自噬可以促进心肌转录因子表达和促进干性因子Oct4水平下调,从而促进心肌分化。     

两株棉铃虫胚胎新细胞系的建立及其对杆状病毒侵染的反应

昆虫细胞系的建立在病毒学和昆虫学等领域的研究和应用中发挥着重要的作用。本研究由棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera胚胎组织建立了两株细胞系, 分别命名为QB-Ha-E-1和QB-Ha-E-5, 在含10％胎牛血清的TNM-FH培养基中已传代60余代。两株细胞系均以圆形和短梭形细胞为主。DAF鉴定结果表明, 两株细胞系均来源于棉铃虫胚胎, 其扩增谱带与其他几种昆虫细胞系明显不同; QB-Ha-E-1和QB-Ha-E-5的第30代细胞群体倍增时间分别为63.7 h和66.9 h。两株细胞系均能被棉铃虫核型多角体病毒（HaSNPV）感染, 4 d的感染率分别为86.6％和56.5％, 对甘蓝夜蛾Mamestra brassicae核型多角体病毒（MbNPV）7 d的感染率均为15％左右, 但对苜蓿银纹夜蛾Autographa californica核型多角体病毒（AcMNPV）侵染的反应不同。DAPI染色和基因组DNA电泳结果表明, AcMNPV可诱导QB-Ha-E-5细胞发生凋亡, 极少数细胞内可形成多角体, 但不能诱导QB-Ha-E-1细胞发生凋亡, 其感染率为55.3％; 两株细胞系均可被1.25 μg/mL的放线菌素D诱导发生凋亡。两株细胞系具有相同的遗传背景, 但对AcMNPV侵染的反应不同, 可作为昆虫病毒和细胞之间相互关系以及细胞凋亡机制研究的理想材料。     

CHOP双重调控衣霉素诱导的DU-145细胞凋亡及自噬的研究

目的研究内质网应激分子CHOP调控细胞凋亡与自噬的作用和机制。 方法利用衣霉素诱导DU-145细胞产生内质网应激,Western Blot法检测内质网应激相关分子Grp78、Grp94、p-eIF2α和CHOP及自噬蛋白LC3Ⅱ、Atg5和Beclin1的表达;用流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡水平;沉默CHOP基因,用Western Blot法检测凋亡蛋白PARP、Caspase3的表达,流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡;并利用免疫荧光检测自噬标志性蛋白LC3B的表达。 结果衣霉素诱导DU-145细胞内质网应激能诱导一定程度的细胞凋亡,衣霉素处理8、12、24?h的细胞凋亡率分别为3.27﹪±1.02﹪,8.97﹪±0.71﹪和11.67﹪±1.41﹪,处理12?h及24?h的细胞凋亡率与对照组相比差异具有统计学意义（P < 0.01）。同时也能通过抑制PI3K/AKt/mTOR信号通路激活DU-145细胞自噬。CHOP基因沉默抑制细胞凋亡,shCtrl组细胞凋亡率为32.17﹪±3.93﹪,shCHOP-1组细胞凋亡率为23.53﹪±3.41﹪,两组相比差异具有统计学意义（P < 0.05）。且CHOP基因沉默能促进细胞自噬分子LC3B的表达。 结论衣霉素诱导DU-145细胞内质网应激状态下,CHOP在细胞凋亡与自噬之间发挥双重调控作用。     

脂多糖通过自噬作用促进氧化低密度脂蛋白诱导的泡沫细胞的形成

目的:研究脂多糖(LPS)促进氧化低密度脂蛋白(ox-LDL)诱导的泡沫细胞形成的机制。方法:人源性THP-1细胞的培养,经ox-LDL诱导形成泡沫细胞。采用油红O染色鉴定泡沫细胞的形成,免疫荧光和Western blot方法检测自噬活性,观察自噬作用对泡沫细胞脂质沉积的影响。结果:①经形态学观察,脂多糖可以促进ox-LDL诱导的泡沫细胞的形成。②脂多糖可以激活自噬作用,并且自噬活性在16h达到最强。③脂多糖可以增强自噬激活剂雷帕霉素(Rap)的促自噬作用(P0.05),并且削弱自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-MA)的作用。④Rap单独作用不能影响泡沫细胞中脂质的累积,然而脂多糖能够增强Rap的作用,显著促进脂滴在泡沫细胞中的累积(P0.05);3-MA可以抑制基础水平和脂多糖诱导后泡沫细胞中脂滴的积累。结论:脂多糖通过增强自噬作用促进泡沫细胞的形成。     

硫链丝菌素诱导非小细胞肺癌细胞自噬性死亡

自噬在细胞的生命过程中起了非常重要的作用,它能通过清除受损的细胞器和过多的蛋白质以维持细胞内环境稳定基本能量代谢的稳定。然而,自噬的持续激活可导致细胞器以及必需的蛋白质的过度消耗,导致不依赖caspase的自噬性细胞死亡。因此,通过这种自噬途径诱导细胞死亡可能是癌症治疗的一种新方法。在本研究我们发现,硫链丝菌素能够减少非小细胞肺癌PC-9细胞的细胞活力和诱导细胞凋亡。另外,我们发现硫链丝菌素诱导了PC-9细胞自噬。此外,我们也发现硫链丝菌素诱导的细胞凋亡可以被自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-MA)阻止。这些结果表明,硫链丝菌素促进人体非小细胞肺癌细胞的自噬性死亡。在本研究我们的发现也提示硫链丝菌素联合自噬诱导剂可能在临床上对治疗人非小细胞肺癌有效。     

自噬及其对水痘-带状疱疹病毒糖蛋白生物合成和感染性的抑制作用

<正>已有学者对自噬及其在水痘-带状疱疹病毒(VZV)整个感染周期中的抑制或诱导作用进行了研究。作为一个基线,该研究首次列举了感染VZV后每个细胞的自噬体数,并与血清饥饿处理或用衣霉素或海藻糖诱导自噬后的数目相比。VZV感染诱导的斑点数与海藻糖在未感染细胞所诱导的斑点数相似。用自噬抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤(3-MA)处理感染细胞,病毒滴度显著降低,包括无病毒细胞数和感染病灶数(P0.000 1)。进一步通过密度梯度沉降法纯化病毒,发现3-MA治疗能降低VZV gE的基因量,而海藻糖处理     

自噬抑制与肿瘤

自噬是一种在正常细胞和病理状态细胞中普遍存在的生理机制。自噬与肿瘤细胞的生存与凋亡关系密切,在很多肿瘤细胞中,其自噬活性均有改变。抑制肿瘤细胞中自噬活动可以促进肿瘤细胞的凋亡。在化疗诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡的同时,以自噬抑制剂抑制肿瘤细胞的自噬活动,可改善肿瘤的治疗效果。     

自噬对过氧化氢诱导的2BS早衰细胞具有保护作用

过氧化氢诱导的2BS应激性早衰细胞后,自噬被发现增多.自噬特异抑制剂3-甲基腺嘌呤（3-MA ）阻断年轻和早衰的2BS细胞的自噬作用36 h,用共聚焦显微镜,分析转染了自噬特异标志GFP-LC3融合质粒的年轻和早衰细胞,发现细胞自噬颗粒均明显减少,且GFP-LC3染色阳性/ 细胞数目也大大减少,说明3-MA有效地阻断了细胞的自噬过程.分别用流式细胞术和荧光显微镜分析年轻和早衰细胞的凋亡情况,发现年轻的2BS细胞自噬阻断后凋亡未见显著变化,而早衰的细胞凋亡明显增加,且有细胞坏死.由此推断,3-AM可使过氧化氢诱导的2BS早衰细胞自噬明显减少,而凋亡被诱导增多,提示自噬对过氧化氢诱导的早衰细胞具有避免凋亡和维持存活的保护作用.     

Baculovirus infection triggers a shift from amino acid starvation-induced autophagy to apoptosis

Autophagy plays a central role in regulating important cellular functions such as cell survival during starvation and control of infectious pathogens. On the other hand, many pathogens have evolved mechanisms of inhibition of autophagy such as blockage of the formation of autophagosomes or the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. Baculoviruses are important insect pathogens for pest control, and autophagy activity increases significantly during insect metamorphosis. However, it is not clear whether baculovirus infection has effects on the increased autophagy. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) infection on autophagy in SL-HP cell line from Spodoptera litura induced under amino acid deprivation. The results revealed that AcMNPV infection did not inhibit autophagy but triggered apoptosis under starvation pressure. In the early stage of infection under starvation, mitochondrial dysfunction was detected, suggesting the organelles might be involved in cell apoptosis. The semi-quantitative PCR assay revealed that the expression of both p35 and ie-1 genes of AcMNPV had no significant difference between the starved and unstarved SL-HP cells. The western blot analysis showed that no cleavage of endogenous Atg6 occurred during the process of apoptosis in SL-HP cells. These data demonstrated that some permissive insect cells may defend baculovirus infection via apoptosis under starvation and apoptosis is independent of the cleavage of Atg6 in SL-HP cells.     

细胞自噬对酒精诱导的肝细胞毒性的保护作用

目的：研究细胞自噬对酒精诱导的人肝细胞系（CL-1）的保护作用。方法：培养正常肝细胞系CL-1细胞,80mmol／L酒精常规处理24小时,采用CCK-8法观察酒精对细胞活力的影响;流式细胞技术观察酒精对细胞凋亡的影响;免疫蛋白印迹及转染GFP-LC3法检测细胞自噬水平;选用rapamycin和3-MA调节细胞自噬,观察酒精处理后细胞活力及凋亡的变化。结果：酒精处理体外培养的CL-1细胞,实验组较对照组细胞活力下降（P〈0．05）;实验组细胞46．2％发生凋亡,显著高于对照组8．4％;LC3II及Beclinl水平显著高于对照组;GFP-LC3荧光数显著高于对照组（P〈0．05）;调节细胞自噬水平,rapamycin组细胞活性增加（P〈0．01）,31．1％（46．2％）细胞发生凋亡;3-MA组细胞活性降低（P〈0．05）,54．1％（46．2％）细胞发生凋亡。结论：酒精处理降低CL-1细胞活性,促进凋亡,提高自噬水平;提高或降低细胞自噬水平,细胞凋亡及活力随之降低和增加;细胞自噬能够对抗酒精诱导的肝细胞凋亡。     

The Combination of RAD001 and MK-2206 Exerts Synergistic Cytotoxic Effects against PTEN Mutant Gastric Cancer Cells: Involvement of MAPK-Dependent Autophagic,but Not Apoptotic Cell Death Pathway

In the current study, we showed that the combination of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) and Akt inhibitor MK-2206 exerted synergistic cytotoxic effects against low-phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gastric cancer cells (HGC-27 and SNU-601 lines). In HGC-27 cells, RAD001 and MK-2206 synergistically induced G1/S cell cycle arrest, growth inhibition, cell death but not apoptosis. RAD001 and MK-2206 synergistically induced light chain 3B (LC3B) and beclin-1 expression, two important autophagy indicators. Meanwhile, the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine inhibited the cytotoxic effects by RAD001 and MK-2206, suggesting that autophagic, but not apoptotic cell death was important for the cytotoxic effects by the co-administration. We observed that the combination of RAD001 and MK-2206 exerted enhanced effects on Akt/mTOR inhibition, cyclin D1 down-regulation and ERK/MAPK(extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinases) activation. Intriguingly, MEK/ERK inhibitors PD98059 and U0126 suppressed RAD001 plus MK-2206-induced beclin-1 expression, autophagy induction and cytotoxicity in HGC-27 cells. In conclusion, these results suggested that the synergistic anti-gastric cancer cells ability by RAD001 and MK-2206 involves ERK-dependent autophagic cell death pathway.     

Autophagy plays a protective role in free cholesterol overload-induced death of smooth muscle cells

Smooth muscle cells (SMC) make up most of the vascular system. In advanced atherosclerotic plaques, dying SMCs undergo a complex death mode. In the present study, we examined the activation of autophagy in SMCs overloaded with excess free cholesterol (FC) and investigated the possible role which autophagy plays during the FC-induced cell death. After incubation with excess FC, a robust expression of autophagic vacuoles (AV) was detected using both fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that FC induced a time-dependent upregulation of microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain 3-II (LC3-II). Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) enhanced both cell apoptosis and necrosis, while on the contrary, rapamycin inhibited cell death following cholesterol application. Furthermore, the impact of the colocalization of fragmented mitochondria with AVs was observed after cholesterol treatment. Our results also revealed that the modulation of autophagy directly influenced the cellular organellar stress. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that excess FC induced the activation of autophagy in SMCs as a cellular defense mechanism, possibly through the degradation of dysfunctional organelles such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum.     

Suppression of LETM1 inhibits the proliferation and stemness of colorectal cancer cells through reactive oxygen species–induced autophagy

Leucine zipper-EF-hand–containing transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1) is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein that is highly expressed in various cancers. Although LETM1 is known to be associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC), its roles in autophagic cell death in CRC have not been explored. In this study, we examined the mechanisms through which LETM1 mediates autophagy in CRC. Our results showed that LETM1 was highly expressed in CRC tissues and that down-regulation of LETM1 inhibited cell proliferation and induced S-phase arrest. LETM1 silencing also suppressed cancer stem cell–like properties and induced autophagy in CRC cells. Additionally, the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine reversed the inhibitory effects of LETM1 silencing on proliferation and stemness, whereas the autophagy activator rapamycin had the opposite effects. Mechanistically, suppression of LETM1 increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial ROS by regulation of SOD2, which in turn activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), initiated autophagy, and inhibited proliferation and stemness. Our findings suggest that silencing LETM1 induced autophagy in CRC cells by triggering ROS-mediated AMPK/mTOR signalling, thus blocking CRC progression, which will enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of LETM1 in CRC.     

MicroRNA let-7g regulates mouse granulosa cell autophagy by targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor

As an important type of somatic cell, granulosa cells play a major role in deciding the fate of follicles. Therefore, analyses of granulosa cell apoptosis and follicular atresia have become hotspots of animal research. Autophagy is a cellular catabolic mechanism that protects cells from stress conditions, including starvation, hypoxia, and accumulation of misfolded proteins. However, the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in granulosa cells is not well known. Here, we demonstrate that let-7g regulates the mouse granulosa cell autophagy signaling pathway by inhibiting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor expression and affecting the phosphorylation of protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin. Small interference-mediated knockdown of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor significantly promoted autophagy signaling of mouse granulosa cells. In contrast, overexpression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor in mouse granulosa cells attenuated autophagy activity in the presence of let-7g. In addition, overexpression of let-7g increased the apoptosis rate, as indicated by an increased number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling-positive cells. Finally, 3-methyladenine as well as the lysosomal enzyme inhibitor chloroquine partially blocked apoptosis. In summary, this study demonstrates that let-7g regulates autophagy in mouse granulosa cells by targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and downregulating protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling, and that mouse granulosa cell autophagy induced by let-7g participates in apoptosis.     

Apoptosis inhibition by Bcl-2 gives way to autophagy in glucocorticoid-treated lymphocytes

Glucocorticosteroid hormones, including prednisone and dexamethasone (Dex), have been used to treat lymphoid malignancies for many years because they readily induce apoptosis in immature lymphocytes lacking Bcl-2. However, elevated expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 inhibits apoptosis and contributes to glucocorticoid resistance. Using the Bcl-2-negative WEHI7.2 lymphoma line as an experimental model, we found that Dex not only induces apoptosis but also induces autophagy. The caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk inhibited apoptosis but not autophagy in Dex-treated cells. Bcl-2 overexpression inhibited Dex-induced apoptosis even more potently than Z-VAD-fmk and, contrary to previous reports, Bcl-2 neither interacted with Beclin-1 nor inhibited autophagy. Rather, Bcl-2 overexpression facilitated detection of Dex-induced autophagy by both steady state methods and flux measurements, ostensibly due to apoptosis inhibition. Autophagy contributed to prolonged survival of Bcl-2-positive lymphoma cells following Dex treatment, as survival was reduced when autophagy was inhibited by 3-methyladenine. These findings emphasize the important interplay between apoptosis and autophagy and suggest a novel mechanism by which Bcl-2, which is frequently elevated in lymphoid malignancies, contributes to glucocorticoid resistance and survival of lymphoma cells.     

Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin promotes cyclic AMP-induced differentiation of NG108-15 cells

To clarify the involvement of autophagy in neuronal differentiation, the effect of rapamycin, an mTOR complex inhibitor, on the dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP)-induced differentiation of NG108-15 cells was examined. Treatment of NG108-15 cells with 1 mM dbcAMP resulted in induction of differentiation, including neurite outgrowth and varicosity formation, enhanced voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channel activity and expression of microtubule-associated protein 2, and these effects involved phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK). Simultaneous application of dbcAMP and rapamycin synergistically increased and accelerated differentiation. mTOR or raptor silencing with siRNA had a similar effect to rapamycin. Rapamycin and silencing of mTOR or raptor evoked autophagy, while blockade of autophagy by addition of 3-methyladenine or beclin 1 or Atg5 silencing prevented the potentiation of differentiation. Silencing of rictor also evokes autophagy, at a level 55% of that induced by raptor silencing and enhancement of differentiation is proportional. Rapamycin also caused increased ATP generation and cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase, but had no effect on CREB and ERK phosphorylation. dbcAMP also induced ATP generation, but not autophagy or cell cycle arrest. These results suggest that the increased autophagy, ATP generation and cell cycle arrest caused by mTOR inhibition promotes the dbcAMP-induced differentiation of NG108-15 cells.     

Apoptosis inhibition by Bcl-2 gives way to autophagy in glucocorticoid-treated lymphocytes

Glucocorticosteroid hormones, including prednisone and dexamethasone (Dex), have been used to treat lymphoid malignancies for many years because they readily induce apoptosis in immature lymphocytes lacking Bcl-2. However, elevated expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 inhibits apoptosis and contributes to glucocorticoid resistance. Using the Bcl-2-negative WEHI7.2 lymphoma line as an experimental model, we found that Dex not only induces apoptosis but also induces autophagy. The caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk inhibited apoptosis but not autophagy in Dex-treated cells. Bcl-2 overexpression inhibited Dex-induced apoptosis even more potently than Z-VAD-fmk and, contrary to previous reports, Bcl-2 neither interacted with Beclin-1 nor inhibited autophagy. Rather, Bcl-2 overexpression facilitated detection of Dex-induced autophagy by both steady state methods and flux measurements, ostensibly due to apoptosis inhibition. Autophagy contributed to prolonged survival of Bcl-2-positive lymphoma cells following Dex treatment, as survival was reduced when autophagy was inhibited by 3-methyladenine. These findings emphasize the important interplay between apoptosis and autophagy and suggest a novel mechanism by which Bcl-2, which is frequently elevated in lymphoid malignancies, contributes to glucocorticoid resistance and survival of lymphoma cells.     

D4F alleviates the C/EBP homologous protein-mediated apoptosis in glycated high-density lipoprotein-treated macrophages by facilitating autophagy

The present study aimed to investigate the role of D4F, an apolipoprotein A-I mimetic peptide, in macrophage apoptosis induced by the glycated high-density lipoprotein (gly-HDL)-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) pathway, and unravel the regulatory role of autophagy in this process. Our results revealed that except for suppressing the accumulation of lipids within RAW264.7 macrophages caused by gly-HDL, D4F inhibited gly-HDL-induced decrease in the cell viability and increase in lactate dehydrogenase leakage and cell apoptosis, which were similar to 4-phenylbutyric acid (PBA, an ER stress inhibitor). Besides, similar to PBA, D4F inhibited gly-HDL-induced ER stress response activation evaluated through the decreased PERK and eIF2α phosphorylation, together with reduced ATF6 nuclear translocation as well as the downregulation of GRP78 and CHOP. Interestingly, D4F facilitated gly-HDL-triggered activation of autophagy, measured as elevated levels of beclin-1, LC3-II, and ATG5 expressions in macrophages. Furthermore, the inhibition effect of D4F on gly-HDL-induced ER stress-CHOP-induced apoptosis of macrophages was restrained after beclin-1 siRNA and 3-methyladenine (3-MA, an inhibitor of autophagy) treatments, while this effect was further reinforced after rapamycin (Rapa, an inducer of autophagy) treatment. Furthermore, administering D4F or Rapa to T2DM mice upregulated LC3-II and attenuated CHOP expression, cell apoptosis, and atherosclerotic lesions. However, the opposite results were obtained when 3-MA was administered to these mice. These results support that D4F effectively protects macrophages against gly-HDL-induced ER stress-CHOP-mediated apoptosis by promoting autophagy.