Pharmacological inhibition of lysosomal activity as a method for monitoring thyroid hormone-induced autophagic flux in mammalian cells in vitro

Abstract

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular catabolic process that is essential for cellular housekeeping and nutrient homeostasis. Recently, we provided evidence that thyroid hormone (TH) is a major inducer of autophagy in mammalian cells. Here, we describe a method for detecting TH-induced autophagic flux in hepatic, muscle, and brown adipocyte cells using lysosomal inhibitor bafilomycin A1 (BafA1) and conventional Western blot techniques.