Department of Anesthesiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Core Facility for Protein Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Cell Transplant. 2021 Jan-Dec;30:963689720985113. doi: 10.1177/0963689720985113.
Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies. The existence of bladder cancer stem cells (BCSCs) has been suggested to underlie bladder tumor initiation and recurrence. Propofol is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic. Here, we find that propofol can dramatically block the activation of Hedgehog pathway in BCSCs. The propofol strongly repressed the growth of cancer cells. Attenuated proliferation and enhanced apoptosis of tumor cells were observed upon propofol stimulation. Furthermore, propofol reduced the self-renewal ability of BCSCs as well as the tumor formation. In conclusion, propofol is potentially used as a novel therapeutic agent for bladder cancer by targeting self-renewal through inhibiting Hedgehog pathway.
膀胱癌是最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。膀胱癌干细胞(BCSCs)的存在被认为是膀胱癌发生和复发的基础。异丙酚是一种常用的静脉麻醉剂。在这里,我们发现异丙酚可以显著阻断 BCSCs 中 Hedgehog 通路的激活。异丙酚强烈抑制癌细胞的生长。异丙酚刺激后观察到肿瘤细胞增殖减弱和凋亡增强。此外,异丙酚降低了 BCSCs 的自我更新能力和肿瘤形成能力。总之,异丙酚通过抑制 Hedgehog 通路靶向自我更新,有可能成为治疗膀胱癌的一种新的治疗药物。