Abstract
Background Propofol is an anesthetic commonly used clinically and has been found to have antitumor activity in various cancers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of propofol in hepatoblastoma (HB). Methods CCK-8 and transwell were used to measure cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HB cells. Cell apoptosis rate was measured by FCM. The expression of CCL18 in HB tissues and cells was detected by RT-qPCR. Western blotting was used to explore the protein expression of CCK18- and PI3K/AKT-related proteins. Results The expression of CCL18 in HB tissues and cells was overexpressed compared with control groups. CCL18 knockdown was found to notably block cell proliferation and progression, while enhancing cell apoptosis in HuH-6 and HepT1 cells. Furthermore, propofol suppressed the proliferation of HB cells in a dose-dependent manner. According to the results, we chose 5 μg/mL of propofol-treated cells for 48 hours as the subsequent experimental conditions. We found that propofol (5 μg/mL, 48 h) significantly blocked cell migration and invasion, but induced cell apoptosis in HuH-6 and HepT1 cells. In addition, CCK18 overexpression facilitated cell progression in HB cells, while propofol dramatically suppressed the effect of CCK18. Besides that, propofol suppressed the PI3K/AKT pathway. Conclusion Propofol suppressed the development of HB cells by inhibiting CCK18 expression and the PI3K/AKT pathway. Therefore, we infer that propofol plays a role in the treatment of HB.
Highlights
Hepatoblastoma (HB) is mainly derived from human immature liver precursor cells [1]
Western blot results showed that CCL18 was higher expressed in HepG2, HuH-6, and HepT1 cells than in MIHA cells (Figure 1(b)). erefore, we speculated that CCL18 might play a specific role in HB progression
Cell proliferation was significantly declined in HuH-6 and HepT1 cells when transfected with CCL18 knockdown (Figure 2(b))
Summary
Hepatoblastoma (HB) is mainly derived from human immature liver precursor cells [1]. HB is the most common primary liver malignant tumor in children, and 90% of patients are affected before the age of 5 years [2]. Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic of alkyl phenols, which is widely used in clinical practice [4]. It plays a sedative and hypnotic role by activating the GABA receptor-chloride ion complex [5]. In addition to the anesthetic effect, propofol can affect the biological process of tumors and have different effects on different tumor cells [7]. CCK18 overexpression facilitated cell progression in HB cells, while propofol dramatically suppressed the effect of CCK18. Propofol suppressed the development of HB cells by inhibiting CCK18 expression and the PI3K/AKT pathway. Propofol suppressed the development of HB cells by inhibiting CCK18 expression and the PI3K/AKT pathway. erefore, we infer that propofol plays a role in the treatment of HB
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