In Vitro Effects of Propofol on Cytotoxic, Apoptotic and PI3K-Akt Signaling Pathway Genes on Brain Cancer Cells.

Aim It was aimed to determine the cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of propofol on glioma cells. Background Propofol [2,6-diisopropylphenol] is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic. Propofol is known to have a mechanism of action on the PI3K-AKT pathway. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effect of propofol on the proliferation and apoptosis of human glioma cells, as well as to investigate changes in expression levels of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes. Materials-methods The cytotoxic effect of propofol on the U-87 MG cell line was determined by WST-1 method. Annexin V-FITC and Mitoprobe JC-1 assay were used to measure apoptosis by flow cytometry. Expression levels of genes in the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were investigated by qRT-PCR. Results We have shown that propofol-induced apoptosis in U-87 MG cells by 17.1-fold compared to untreated control. Furthermore, significant differences were found in the expression levels of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes. Conclusion As a result of our study, it was found that propofol caused differences in expression levels of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes, and it was suggested that these differences might be related to apoptosis induction.