Bifendate inhibits autophagy at multiple steps and attenuates oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation

Some traditional Chinese medicines exert roles in the therapy of liver diseases by modulating autophagy. Bifendate (DDB), a synthetic intermediate of Schisandrin C extracted from Schisandrae chinensis, is clin-ically used to treat hepatitis in China. While DDB is a positive control to research some potential hep-atoprotective agents, its related molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, we show that DDB inhibited autophagosome-lysosome fusion, lysosome acidification and autophagic lysosome reforma-tion. Moreover, DDB attenuated oleic acid-induced lipid droplet accumulation. These findings reveal the effects of DDB on the autophagy-related processes and lysosomal function, and also provide a possibility to understand the bioactivity mechanism of DDB in the future.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

In this study, it was found that Bifendate modulated autophagy and lysosomal function to treat liver diseases.