Tanshinone IIA induces autophagy in colon cancer cells through MEK/ERK/mTOR pathway

Colon cancer is a common malignancy of the digestive tract. The search for effective drugs to treat colon cancer has become the focus of current researches. Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is a fat-soluble component extracted from tanshinone, a traditional Chinese medicine. Tan IIA can modulate the occurrence and development of tumors, but its effect on autophagy in colon cancer cells has not been reported.Two types of colon cancer cell lines were...