Effect of cycloheximide on glucagon-induced autophagy. Quantitative examinations on hepatocytes in the rat.

By means of fine structural evaluation, a highly significant inhibitory effect of cycloheximide (20 mg/kg) on glucagon-induced autophagy is demonstrated in rat hepatocytes, which also presumably affects physiologic autophagic activities. Contrary to other investigators, we think in vivo global inhibition experiments using cycloheximide as an inhibitor of protein synthesis do not provide substantial information on the origin of the segregating membranes.