Front cover: Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)‐induced neuronal differentiation of SH‐SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells is associated with the induction of autophagy. SH‐SY5Y cells were differentiated into neurons by treatment with PMA (80 nM). At day 4, the cells were stained with acridine orange, and the presence of orange‐red acidic intracellular vesicles, consistent with the induction of autophagy, was demonstrated by fluorescent microscopy. Both the autophagy and neuronal differentiation were mediated by the activation of AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK). The study reveals a complex interplay between autophagy and AMPK/ERK in neuronal differentiation, in which the stimulatory effects of AMPK/ERK signaling on the expression of neural markers were counteracted by the coinciding autophagic response. These findings may be important for understanding the role of autophagy and AMPK/ERK signaling system in neural development, as well as in neuroblastoma carcinogenesis. J. Neurochem. 2015, vol. 133 (2), pp. 223–232.
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