TNF-α reduced the cell survival and induced the autophagic dysfunction in PC12 cells.

<p>(A) TNF-α levels were persistently higher in young mouse midbrains after LPS injection. (B) Concentration-dependent effects of TNF-α (10, 50, 100, and 200 ng/ml) treatment for 24 h on the viability of PC12 cells, which was determined by the MTT method. The protein and mRNA levels of α-SYN (C) and p62 (E) were examined by Western blotting and reverse transcription PCR after treatment with TNF-α for 24 h in PC12 cells. (D) TNF-α (50 ng/ml) caused a marked increase of LC3-II as determined by Western blotting. Results are normalized to the value in control group (TNF 0 ng/ml) and shown as mean ± SEM, n = 4–8. *<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01 compared to controls.