Sevoflurane and Propofol Co-affect the Development of Colorectal Cancer by Regulating TM2D1.

AIMS: Sevoflurane and propofol are the most commonly used anesthetics in surgery. In this study, we aim to explore and clarify the function of sevoflurane and propofol in colorectal cancer.

METHODS

Cell counting kit-8, colony formation, western blot, and transwell assays were performed to determine cell proliferation, apoptosis, ferroptosis, invasion, and migration. We performed overexpression experiments to detect the underlying molecular mechanism of sevoflurane and propofol. The genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition were measured by western blot.

RESULTS

We discovered that sevoflurane and propofol co-treatment exerted more anti-tumor activities than just sevoflurane or propofol treatment in colorectal cancer cells in vitro. Mechanistically, our data showed that sevoflurane and propofol-induced apoptosis and ferroptosis and inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Additionally, TM2D1 was considered a target of sevoflurane and propofol, and TM2D1 overexpression reversed the effect of sevoflurane and propofol on colorectal cancer cell biology behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed a novel anti-tumor mechanism of sevoflurane and propofol in colorectal cancer cells, and TM2D1 might be an underlying therapeutic target for treating colorectal cancer patients.