Pharmacological VC Affects Cell Size, Autophagy, and Tumor Growth through Inhibiting mTOR Activation.

(A) H1299 cells were treated with 0.5 mM VC and Torin1 for 48 h, and cell size was determined by FACS. (B, C) H1299 cells were treated with bafilomycin A1 and 1.0 mM VC alone or in combination with Torin1 for 6 h, and then cell autophagy was analyzed by examining GFP-LC3 puncta (B). Quantitative data for GFP-LC3 puncta was presented (C). (D-F) H1299 were injected into nude mice subcutaneous, VC supplementation by intravenous injection (n = 6 per group). The diameter of the tumor was measured after 14 days of injection. Tumors were obtained on the 38th day after injection. The volume (D), weight (E), and mTORC1 activation (F) of tumors were measured. (G-I) TSC2-depleted H1299 cells were injected into nude mice subcutaneous, VC supplementation by intravenous injection (n = 6 per group). The diameter of the tumor was measured after 14 days of injection. Tumors were obtained on the 26th day after injection. The volume (G), weight (H), and mTORC1 activation (I) of tumors were measured. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (C, D, G, H) or t-test (E), p value was considered statistically significant, *** denote p values of < 0.001, ns denote not significant.