Babaodan inhibits cell growth by inducing autophagy through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and enhances antitumor effects of cisplatin in NSCLC cells.

Babaodan capsule (BBD), a traditional Chinese (TCM) formula, has been widely used as an alternative remedy for multiple types of malignancies, clinically. However, the underlying mechanisms behind the efficacy of BBD remain poorly understood, particularly in regard to lung cancer. Herein, we demonstrate that BBD induced autophagic death in A549 and A549DDP cells without apoptosis. Treatment with autophagic inhibitor 3-MA, Baf-A1 and PI3K agonist, IGF-1, fully proved our conclusion, as well as uncovered the potential downregulated signaling pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR. The study additionally found that BBD could downregulate the expression of MDR1 and increase the chemosensitivity of cisplatin. Collectively, our results, both in vivo and in vitro, demonstrate that BBD leads to autophagic cell death through downregulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and improved the antitumor effects of cisplatin in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).