Sevoflurane inhibits migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells by regulating microRNA-34a/ADAM10 axis

Sevoflurane is frequently used volatile anesthetic in cancer surgery. It has been suggested that treatment with sevoflurane could suppress migration and invasion of several human cancer cells in vitro. However, the effects of sevoflurane on colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unclear. In this study, CRC HCT116 and SW480 cells were treated by various concentrations of sevoflurane. MTT assay and Transwell assay were applied to evaluate the cell viability, migration and invasion abilities of CRC cell lines, respectively. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to examine the expression level of miR-34a, and western blot assay was employed to detect the protein level of ADAM10. The target interaction between miR-34a and ADAM10 was verified through bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter gene assay system. We found Aberrant inhibitory effects induced by sevoflurane on the cell viability, migration and invasion abilities of HCT116 and SW480 cells in a dose-dependent manner were observed. Up-regulation of miR-34a strikingly suppressed the cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of the two cell lines. Sevoflurane could facilitate the miR-34a expression and its suppressor effects on CRC cells was reversed by pre-treatment with miR-34a inhibitors. ADAM10 was identified as a downstream gene of miR-34a, and down-regulated by miR-34a. Overexpression of ADAM10 reverted both miR-34a and sevoflurane-induced repression in the cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of CRC cells. Our data showed Sevoflurane inhibits the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells by regulating microRNA-34a/ADAM10 axis.