16-hydroxy-cleroda-3,13-dien-16,15-olide induced glioma cell autophagy via ROS generation and activation of p38 MAPK and ERK-1/2.

16-hydroxy-cleroda-3,13-dien-16,15-olide (HCD), a natural product isolated from medicinal plant Polyalthia longifolia exhibits anticancer activity through caspase-independent apoptosis in brain tumors, as previously reported. This study further attempted to investigate the involvement of HCD-induced autophagy in brain tumor cell lines neuroblastoma N18 and glioma C6 through the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activation of p38 and ERK-1/2 pathway. The results demonstrated that HCD increased the hyper-generation of ROS and decreased cellular antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione s transferase (GST). Furthermore, HCD increased the expressions of autophagic marker proteins LC3-II and Beclin-1 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Additionally, HCD was found to significantly induce p-p38 MAPK and p-ERK-1/2 proteins by Western blot, which implies that HCD is a potential therapeutic anticancer agent that exerts its activity through inducing ROS-mediation for the autophagy of brain tumor cells.