Resveratrol-induced apoptosis is enhanced by inhibition of autophagy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

• Resveratrol inhibits ESCC cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner.
• Resveratrol enhances both autophagy and apoptotic cell death in ESCC cells.
• Resveratrol-induced autophagy in the ESCC cells is AMPK/mTOR pathway independent.
• RSV induces ESCC cell cycle arrest at the sub-G1 phase and results in subsequent apoptosis.
• Combination of autophagy inhibitor and resveratrol could be a novel strategy in ESCC treatment.

The anti-cancer activity of resveratrol in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) was investigated focusing on the role of autophagy and its effects on apoptotic cell death. We demonstrated that resveratrol inhibits ESCC cell growth in a dose-dependent manner by inducing cell cycle arrest at the sub-G1 phase and resulting in subsequent apoptosis. Mechanistically, resveratrol-induced autophagy in the ESCC cells is AMPK/mTOR pathway independent. Since both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of autophagy enhanced the resveratrol-induced cytotoxicity to the ESCC cells, this provided a novel strategy in potentiating the anti-cancer effects of resveratrol and other chemotherapeutic reagents in ESCC cancer treatment.