Methyl jasmonate induces apoptosis and pro-apoptotic autophagy via the ROS pathway in human non-small cell lung cancer

Methyl jasmonate (MJ) is a botanical hormone that serves as a signal transduction intermediate and regulates cell death in stressed plants. MJ induces cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and non-apoptotic cell death selectively in cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanism of MJ-induced apoptosis remains unclear. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism through which MJ induces apoptosis in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We found that MJ triggered apoptosis via the DDIT3-TNFRSF10B-CASP axis. MJ treatment significantly decreased the expression of CFLAR (CASP8 and FADD-like apoptosis regulator, an inhibitor of CASP8) in NSCLC cells, and ectopic expression of CFLAR partly protected cells from MJ-induced apoptosis. MJ also induced pro-apoptotic autophagy in NSCLC cells. Importantly, inhibition of ROS suppressed both MJ-induced apoptosis and autophagy. Taken together, MJ induces apoptosis and pro-apoptotic autophagy in NSCLC cells through the ROS pathway. Thus, MJ and its derivative treatment may serve as a novel chemotherapeutic strategy for cancer therapy.