Mechanism of Xu Li's Experiential Prescription for the Treatment of EGFR-Positive NSCLC

The non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common lung cancer which seriously threatens the human health. Xu Li's experiential prescription (XLEP) can treat the NSCLC. However, whether XLEP can regulate the autophagy in the EGFR-positive NSCLC still remains unknown. We found that the cellular activity of drug-resistant cells and sensitive cells were all decreased in the TCM group and TCM + Gef group. The expression of autophagy-associated proteins (mTOR and Beclin1-Vps34) in drug-resistant cells was decreased in the TCM group, while the expression of autophagy-associated proteins in sensitive cells was all decreased in the TCM + Gef group. The ratio of M1/M2 macrophages was increased when IL-4-induced RAW264.7 was treated with TCM. TCM treatment promoted the expression of CCL2 and CCL3 while it downregulated the CCL22 level among A549, H1975, and PC9 cells. The expression of TNF-α and IL-6 was increased, and the expression of IL-10 and TGF-β was decreased in IL-4-induced RAW264.7 cells treated with TCM. And, TCM treatment also decreased the expression of Fizz1 and TGM2. In conclusion, this study indicated that XLEP could suppress the proliferation of EGFR-TKI-resistant cancer cells and increase the ratio of M1/M2 macrophages by inhibiting autophagy to treat the drug-resistant EGFR-positive NSCLC.