Effect of extracellular hyperosmolality during normothermia and hyperthermia on the autophagic response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from young men

Abstract

We demonstrate that a physiologically relevant increase in serum osmolality causes minimal activation of the autophagic response. However, the combined stressors of serum hyperosmolality and mild hyperthermia causes activation of both autophagy and apoptotic signaling. Thus changes in osmotic homeostasis appear to influence the cell’s cytoprotective ability during periods of heat stress, highlighting the importance of considering osmotic status when examining autophagic responses in vivo.