NAD+ treatment induces delayed autophagy in Neuro2a cells partially by increasing oxidative stress.

NAD(+) plays important roles in various biological processes. In this study, we reported that treatment of NAD(+) induces delayed autophagy in Neuro2a cells. Moreover, the effects of NAD(+) on the autophagy in the cells appear to be, at least partially, mediated by oxidative stress. However, nicotinamide, a degradation product of NAD(+), does not affect the autophagy. Our experiments have further indicated that the NAD(+)-induced autophagy contributes to the NAD(+)-induced decrease in the survival of these cells. In summary, our study has provided the first evidence that NAD(+) treatment induces autophagy in cancer cells such as Neuro2a cells, which contributes to the NAD(+)-induced decrease in cancer cell survival.