Spermidine-Induced Autophagy Regulates The Survival Of Hela Cells

Although the autophagic effect and mechanism of spermidine have been reported, the role of spermidine-induced autophay in cancer cell survival has not been fully elucidated yet. In the present study, we aim to investigate the effect and toxic mechanism of spermidine on cell survival using Hela cells, a cervical cancer cell line as a model. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. LDH leakage was determined using a LDH assay kit. Mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) was measured by flow cytometry. LC3 conversion and p62 expression were evaluated by western blot analysis. MTT assay revealed that spermidine decreased the viability of Hela cells in a dose-dependent manner in conjunction with disrupted morphology. Moreover, spermidine caused cell damage as evidenced by elevated LDH leakage and compromised MMP as demonstrated by flow cytometry. Concomitantly, western blot analysis showed that spermidine induced autophagy by activating the LC3 conversion and p62 degradation at different concentrations and durations. However, inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA rescued the survival of Hela cells. This study demonstrated that the potential effect of spermidine on decreasing the survival of Hela India cells is attributable to autophagy induction.