Interplay between autophagy and apoptosis in lead(II)-induced cytotoxicity of primary rat proximal tubular cells

Lead not only promotes the autophagosomes formation, but also inhibits the process of autophagic degradation in rat proximal tubular cells. Enhancement of autophagosomes formation can inhibit apoptosis, while inhibition of autophagic degradation can aggravate apoptosis, demonstrating that the interplay between autophagy and apoptosis is implicated in lead-induced cytotoxicity.213