Fig. 8: Diagram of the mechanism of PDT inducing autophagy and apoptosis in CRC cells.

M-THPC-PDT or VP-PDT treatment results in ROS accumulation, which induced autophagy and apoptosis in CRC cells, through regulating JNK and mTOR pathways. Moreover, NAC, SP600125, or siATG5/siATG7 can inhibit autophagy, which reduces the apoptosis induced by PDT.