Suppression of autophagy by ethionine administration in male rat liver in vivo.

The administration of ethionine to male rats decreased the liver adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels to about 20% of that in control rats and prevented leupeptin-induced intralysosomal accumulation of cytosolic proteins, including lactate dehydrogenase sequestered into lysosomes by autophagy, and leupeptin-induced increase of lysosomal density. These actions of ethionine were reversed by the subsequent administration of adenine plus methionine. All these findings show that the administration of ethionine to male rats suppresses the autophagic sequestration of intracellular proteins into lysosomes, probably due to ethionine-induced ATP depletion.