The Novel Autophagy Inhibitor Alpha-Hederin Promoted Paclitaxel Cytotoxicity by Increasing Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Chemoresistance is a major limiting factor that impairs the outcome of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) chemotherapy. Paclitaxel (Tax) induces protective autophagy in NSCLC cells, leading to the development of drug resistance. We recently identified a new autophagy inhibitor (alpha-hederin) and hypothesized that it may promote the killing effect of Tax on NSCLC cells. We found that alpha-hederin (α-Hed) could block late autophagic flux in NSCLC cells by altering lysosomal pH and inhibiting lysosomal cathepsin D maturation. Combination treatment of α-Hed and Tax synergistically reduced NSCLC cell proliferation and increased NSCLC cell apoptosis compared with treatment with α-Hed or Tax alone. Furthermore, α-Hed plus Tax enhanced the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in NSCLC cells, while the ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine reversed the inhibitory effect of the combination treatment. Our findings suggest that α-Hed can increase the killing effect of Tax on NSCLC cells by promoting ROS accumulation, and that combining α-Hed with classical Tax represents a novel strategy for treating NSCLC.