Fig. 1

Estrogen enhances cell viability and inhibits autophagy of estrogen-sensitive UECC. a Western blotting image of ERα in Ishikawa and KLE cells. b, c Ishikawa and KLE cells were incubated with estrogen (10 nM) and/or fulvestrant (250 nM) for 24, 48 or 72 h and CCK-8 assay was performed to test cell viability. (Ishikawa group: estrogen-treated vs control, P = 0.010 at 48 h; P = 0.006 at 72 h). d, e Western blotting assay was carried out to analyze the level of autophagy-related proteins, LC3B, p62 and Beclin-1 after exposure with estrogen (10 nM) and/or fulvestrant (250 nM) for 48 h. Gray scale was analyzed by image J software (right). f, g After stimulation with estrogen (10 nM) and/or fulvestrant (250 nM) for 48 h, autophagic capacity of these cells was evaluated by TEM. The autophagic level was presented as APs and ALs per visual field. The data are presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ns are interpreted as of no statistical significance. Ctrl: control group, E: estrogen-treated group, F: fulvestrant-treated group. E + F: estrogen plus fulvestrant-treated group