Accumulation of palmitic acid (PA) in cells from nonadipose tissues is known to induce
lipotoxicity resulting in cellular dysfunction and death. The exact molecular pathways of PA-
induced cell death are still mysterious. Here, we show that PA triggers autophagy, which did
not counteract but in contrast promoted endothelial cell death. The PA-induced cell death
was predominantly necrotic as indicated by annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) staining,
absence of caspase activity, low levels of DNA hypoploidy, and an early ATP depletion. In …