Propofol Inhibits Lung Cancer Glycolysis by Influencing the Deubiquitination Modification of TPI1 Regulated by USP5

Lung cancer is a malignant tumor of the bronchial mucosa or gland, the morbidity and mortality increase rapidly, and it is a great threat to human health and life. Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic, and its effect on lung cancer has been studied, but the mechanism is not thorough.

The 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo(-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT), 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining, flow cytometry, and transwell assays were applied to assess the viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion, respectively. The glycolytic analysis was performed using the corresponding kits. The gene expression was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The interaction between genes was obtained from the STRING database or ubiquitination analysis. The xenograft tumor mouse models were established to verify the effects of propofol in vivo, and IHC was adopted to detect the gene expression in vivo.

In this study, we found that propofol impeded lung cancer progression and glycolysis. Additionally, propofol curbed the triosephosphate isomerase 1 (TPI1) protein and increased TPI1 ubiquitination modification, meanwhile, propofol exerted inhibitory functions in lung cancer through TPI1. Besides, the protein stability and ubiquitination modification of TPI1 were mediated by ubiquitin-specific peptidase 5 (USP5), and USP5 expedited the progression and glycolysis of lung cancer via TPI1. In the meantime, propofol modulated USP5-regulated functions in lung cancer. In vivo, propofol-inhibited tumor growth by regulating USP5-mediated TPI1.

This study presents propofol/USP5/TPI1 curbing glycolysis metabolism and tumor growth in lung cancer, indicating that propofol-mediated ubiquitination of the target gene may be a new therapeutic target for lung cancer.