Sevoflurane and desflurane exposure enhanced cell proliferation and migration in ovarian cancer cells via mir-210 and mir-138 downregulation

Abstract

Inhalational anaesthetics were previously reported to promote ovarian cancer malig-nancy, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aims to investigate the role of sevoflurane-or desflurane-induced microRNA (miRNA) changes on ovarian cancer cell behav-iour. The cultured SKOV3 cells were exposed to 3.6% sevoflurane or 10.3% desflurane for 2 h. Expression of miR-138,-210 and-335 was determined with qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation and migration were assessed with wound healing assay, Ki67 staining and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assay with or without mimic miR-138/-210 transfections. The miRNA downstream effector, hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), was also analysed with immunofluorescent staining. Sevoflurane or desflurane exposure to cancer cells enhanced their proliferation and migration. miR-138 expression was suppressed by both sevoflurane and desflurane, while miR-210 expression was suppressed only by sevoflurane. miR-335 expression was not changed by either sevoflurane or desflurane exposure. The administration of mimic miR-138 or-210 reduced the promoting effects of sevoflurane and des-flurane on cancer cell proliferation and migration, in line with the HIF-1α expression changes. These data indicated that inhalational agents sevoflurane and desflurane enhanced ovarian cancer cell malignancy via miRNA deactivation and HIF-1α. The translational value of this work needs further study.