THE EFFECT OF PROPOFOL ON THE PROLIFERATION OF NEPHROBLASTOMA CELLS AND THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM

This study aimed to evaluate propofol's effect on nephroblastoma cells proliferation and its underlying mechanism. The treatment with 10, 20 and 40 mu g/mL propofol significantly reduced the proliferation of SK-NEP-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control group and the groups treated with 1 and 5 mu g/mL propofol. In groups treated with 10, 20 and 40 mu g/mL propofol, a time-dependent effect of exposure to propofol on the SK-NEP-1 cell proliferation was observed. The apoptotic effect of propofol compared with the control group was evaluated by the PI/Annexin V-FITC double staining method. The effect was dose-dependent till the concentration of 20 mu g/mL, showing that 20 mu g/mL is the optimum apoptotic concentration. The treatment with 10, 20 and 40 mu g/mL propofol significantly decreased FASN and P-mTOR protein levels and increased the expression of AMPK alpha and P-AMPK alpha compared to the control group. Real-time PCR test results showed that FASN mRNA expression levels in the groups treated with 5, 10, 20 and 40 mu g/mL propofol significantly decreased compared to the control group. In conclusion, propofol can inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of nephroblastoma cells. This mechanism is associated with the inhibition of FASN expression by the AMPK alpha/mTOR signalling pathway.