RESUMO
AIM: autophagy is a pivotal physiological process for survival during starvation, differentiation and normal growth control. It is defined as the process of sequestrating cytoplasmic proteins or even entire organelles into the lytic compartment (lysosome/vacuole). This study investigates the expression of autophagy in Hodgkin lymphoma cells treated with various anti-cancer drugs. METHODS: Hodgkin's lymphoma cells (HD-My-Z cells) were cultured with various anti-cancer drugs, such as bleomycin, adriamycin, gemcitabine and paclitaxel. Autophagy was detected by fluorescent pattern of light chain 3(LC3) proteins and the apoptotic cell death was determined by annexin V binding. RESULTS: autophagy was detected in HD-My-Z cells treated with gemcitabine, but not with bleomycin, adriamycin and paclitaxel. Adriamycin exhibited the strongest cytotoxic action, and the cytotoxic action of bleomycin and gemcitabine was less marked compared with adriamycin. Paclitaxel did not cause significant cell death in the cells. CONCLUSION: autophagy was differentially expressed in Hodgkin lymphoma cells treated with anti-cancer drugs and the expression did not correspond to the apoptotic cell death.