Shiga toxins induce autophagic cell death in intestinal epithelial cells via the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway

Increasing evidence indicates that macroautophagy (autophagy) is a key factor in the cell death induced by Stxs. However, the associated mechanisms are not yet clear.

This study showed that Stx2 induces autophagic cell death in Caco-2 cells, a cultured line model of human enterocytes. Inhibition of autophagy using pharmacological inhibitors, such as 3-methyladenine and bafilomycin A 1 , or silencing of the autophagy genes ATG12 or BECN1 decreased the Stx2-induced death in Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, there were numerous instances of dilated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the Stx2-treated Caco-2 cells, and repression of ER stress due to the depletion of viable candidates of DDIT3 and NUPR1.