Background and Purpose: Surgery remains the first-line treatment of
ovarian cancer. However, perioperative risk factors including the choice
of anaesthetics may influence its recurrence after surgery. In the
current study, it was hypothesised that inhalational anaesthetic
sevoflurane and intravenous anaesthetic propofol might affect cancer
cellular metabolism and signalling, which might interfere the malignancy
of ovarian cancer cells. Experimental Approach: Cultured ovarian cancer
cells were exposed to 2.5% sevoflurane or administered with 4 μg/mL
propofol for 2 hours followed by 24 hours recovery. Their cell
viability, proliferation, migration and invasion were assessed using
cell counting kit-8, Ki-67 staining, wound healing and Transwell assay.
Cellular signalling biomarkers were measured using immunofluorescent
staining and/or Western blot. Cultured media were collected for 1H-NMR
spectroscopy-based metabolomics analysis. Key Results: The cell
viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of ovarian cancer
cells were enhanced by sevoflurane but suppressed by propofol.
Sevoflurane increased the GLUT1, MPC1, GLUD1, p-Erk1/2, and HIF-1α
expressions but decreased the PEDF expression. In contrast to the
sevoflurane treatment, the “mirror changes” of these cellular markers
were observed with propofol. Sevoflurane increased levels of isopropanol
but decreased glucose and glutamine levels in the media, but the
opposite changes of those metabolites were found after propofol
treatment. Conclusion and Implications: These data indicated that unlike
propofol, sevoflurane enhanced ovarian cancer cell metabolism and
activated PEDF/Erk/HIF-1α cellular signalling pathway, suggesting that
sevoflurane might have pro-tumour property but propofol might afford an
anti-tumour property. The translational value of this work warrants
further study.