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.