Honokiol induces autophagy of neuroblastoma cells through activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and endoplasmic reticular stress/ERK1/2 signaling pathways and suppressing cell migration

•Honokiol induces autophagy and resulting apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells.•Honokiol triggers autophagy via activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.•Honokiol sequentially stimulates ER stress/ROS/ERK1/2 phosphorylation and then induces autophagy of neuroblastoma cells.•Treatment with honokiol at a low concentration for a short-term interval can suppress cell migration.