RESUMO
Aim To research the cross-talk and conversion between macroautophagy and chaperone-media-ted autophagy ( CMA) in cultured Burkitt lymphoma Raji cells induced by starvation. Methods The autophagic vacuoles were observed by fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser-scanning microscopy with monodansylcadaverine staining. The expression of autophagy associated-proteins were determined by West-em blot. Results Both macroautophagy and CMA were activated sequentially instead of simultaneously in starvation-induced Raji cells, and macroautophagy was quickly activated and peaked during the first hours of near baseline. With starvation persisted, CM A progressively increased along with the decline of macroautoph- A gy. Conclusions Macroautophagy and CMA are maximally activated during different stages of starvation. Activation of these two pathways is often sequential. The sequential switch from macroautophagy to CMA might be conducive to the adaption of cancer cells to miscellaneous intracellular or extracellular changes, maintaining their own growth and proliferation.