ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Baicalin Chemosensitivity Enhancement of Cisplatin in Bladder Cancer via Autophagy Flux Inhibition
Jiayi Zhuang 1,2
Haojie Wong 1
Zhaoyin Chen 3
Jinhua Wang 1
Xiaoping Zheng 1
Kancheng He 4
Dongdong Xie 1
Qiaoyi Chen 1
Shiqi Deng 1
Jiaqing Wu 2
Xiaoqing Zheng 1
Yingbo Dai 1
1. The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China
2. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University Lingnan Hospital, Guangzhou, China
3. Longgang District People's Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
4. The First People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China
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Abstract
Background: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for advanced bladder cancer (BC); however, nephrotoxicity and chemoresistance limit its clinical application. Baicalin, a flavonoid metabolite derived from the botanical drug, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has been reported to induces autophagy in BC. However, its regulatory effect on autophagic flux under cisplatin treatment remains unclear. Materials and methods: We used cell counting kit (CCK)-8 and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays to explore the role of baicalin in enhancing the sensitivity of BC cells in vitro. The underlying mechanisms were explored using transmission electron microscopy, western blotting, and immunofluorescence, and these findings were validated in vivo. Results: CCK-8 and EdU assays indicated that baicalin significantly enhanced the therapeutic effect of cisplatin and reduced its half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value. Baicalin also inhibited the migration and invasion of BC cells. Western blotting indicated that baicalin suppressed cisplatin-induced autophagy by inhibiting autophagic flux, as evidenced by a reduction in the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes, along with decreased expression of lysosomal proteins LAMP1, LAMP2, CTSD, and CTSB. The results of the experiment in vivo showed that baicalin enhanced the anti-cancer effect of cisplatin. Tumor size in the combination group was significantly smaller than that in the cisplatin group. Conclusion: Baicalin enhanced the sensitivity of BC cells to cisplatin by inhibiting autophagic flux through lysosomal activity suppression. This study provides a potential botanical drug candidate for chemosensitization during BC chemotherapy.
Summary
Keywords
autophagic flux2, Baicalin1, Bladder cancer5, Chemosensitivity3, Cisplatin4
Received
31 July 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Zhuang, Wong, Chen, Wang, Zheng, He, Xie, Chen, Deng, Wu, Zheng and Dai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jiaqing Wu; Xiaoqing Zheng; Yingbo Dai
Disclaimer
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