Anti-proliferation and anti-metastatic effects of sevoflurane on human osteosarcoma U2OS and Saos-2 cells

Abstract Sevoflurane is a commonly used anesthetic in cancer surgery. However, little information is available about the effects of sevoflurane on the osteosarcoma cells. The present study explored the effects of sevoflurane on the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells, as well as the underlying mechanism. Human osteosarcoma cell lines U2OS and Saos-2 were pretreated with different concentrations (2.5%, 5%, or 10%) or different times (0, 2, 4 or 6 h) of sevoflurane. Cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis were analyzed by MTT assay, Ki67 staining, colony formation assay, wound healing scratch assay, transwell assays and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Expression of key factors related to proliferation, migration, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and PI3K/AKT pathway were evaluated by western blotting. We found that sevoflurane significantly inhibited U2OS and Saos-2 cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion, but induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, sevoflurane obviously inactivated PI3K/AKT pathway in U2OS and Saos-2 cells. Activator of PI3K/AKT pathway, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) notably weakened the effects of sevoflurane on U2OS and Saos-2 cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Besides, sevoflurane suppressed EMT process in U2OS and Saos-2 cells. To sum up, our results evidenced that sevoflurane exerted anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects on osteosarcoma cells by inactivating PI3K/AKT pathway.