Sevoflurane enhances proliferation of human colon cancer HCT116 cells via adenosine triphosphate‐sensitive potassium channels (1052.8)

Sevoflurane is one of the commonly used volatile anesthetics in cancer patients. The protective effect of sevoflurane preconditioning against ischemia/reperfusion has raised concerns about whether sevoflurane could acts advantageously for survival even in cancer cells. Therefore, we investigated the effects of sevoflurane on proliferation in cancer cells. Methods: HCT116 cells were plated in 96‐well plates at a density of 1 × 10 4 cells/well and incubated overnight. On the following day, cells were exposed to 1% sevoflurane for 6 h. After 24 h recovery, we performed MTT assay. The absorbance of the formazan product was measured at a wavelength of 570 nm using 650 nm as the reference. In addition, to investigate the role of adenosine triphosphate‐sensitive potassium (K ATP ) channels, we conducted the same experiment under co‐administration with K ATP inhibitor, glibenclamide. Results: Sevoflurane significantly enhanced cell proliferation compared to control (0.53 + 0.023 vs. 0.46+0.033, n=6, p<0.01, respectively). Enhanced proliferation by sevoflurane was completely blocked by co‐administration with glibenclamide. Conclusion: We show that 1% sevoflurane for 6 h enhanced cell proliferation via K ATP channels in HCT116 cells.