Abstract:Objective: To investigate the effect of punicalagin (PUN) on autophagy and apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells by regulating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway.Methods: Human AML cells (HL-60) were cultured in vitro and randomly separated into control group (normal culture), L-PUN, M-PUN, H-PUN groups (20, 40, 60 μg/mL PUN), and 740 Y-P group (60 μg/mL PUN+30 μmol/L PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway activator 740 Y-P). Methylthiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) method and plate cloning method were applied to detect cell proliferation in each group. MDC staining was applied to detect the occurrence of autophagy of cells in various groups. Flow cytometry was applied to detect cell apoptosis in each group. Protein immunoblotting (WB) was applied to detect the expression of apoptosis related proteins (Bcl-2, Bax), autophagy related proteins (P62, LC3-II/I ratio, BECN1), and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway related proteins (p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR) of cells in each group.Results: Compared with the control group, the survival rate, clone count, p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR, P62, and Bcl-2 protein expression of HL-60 cells in the L-PUN group, M-PUN group, and H-PUN group decreased, while the apoptosis rate, autophagosome positive rate, LC3-II/I ratio, BECN1, and Bax protein expression increased (P<0.05). Compared with the H-PUN group, the survival rate, clone number, p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR, P62, and Bcl-2 protein expression of the 740 Y-P group cells increased, while the apoptosis rate, autophagosome positive rate, LC3-II/I ratio, BECN1, and Bax protein expression levels decreased (P<0.05).Conclusion: PUN inhibits the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, inhibits HL-60 cell proliferation, promotes apoptosis and autophagy, and slows down the progression of AML.