Propofol Treatment Inhibits Constitutive Apoptosis in Human Primary Neutrophils and Granulocyte-Differentiated Human HL60 Cells

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 10;10(6):e0129693. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129693. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Apoptosis regulation is essential for neutrophil homeostasis. We previously demonstrated that a process involving glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β determines neutrophil apoptosis. As for this apoptotic process, an overdose of propofol (2,6-Diisopropylphenol; 25 μg/ml or 140 μM) also causes GSK-3β-mediated macrophage apoptosis; however, the early deactivation of GSK-3β with low-dose propofol has been shown. Therefore, we hypothesize that low-dose propofol may induce neutrophil survival via GSK-3β inactivation. Following in vitro culture, the therapeutic concentration of propofol (10 μg/ml or 56 μM) treatment decreased constitutive apoptosis in isolated human primary neutrophils and in granulocyte-differentiated HL60 cells after all-trans retinoic acid (1 μM) treatment. The inactivation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase)/AKT and the activation of GSK-3β results in myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) down-regulation, the loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, and caspase-3 activation in these cells, which is accompanied by apoptosis. Notably, propofol treatment attenuates these effects in a PI3-kinase-regulated manner. We found that propofol initiates PI3-kinase/AKT-mediated GSK-3β inactivation and Mcl-1 stabilization, rescuing the constitutive apoptosis in primary neutrophils and granulocyte-differentiated acute promyelocytic leukemia HL60 cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anesthetics, Intravenous / adverse effects
  • Anesthetics, Intravenous / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / metabolism
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Humans
  • Neutrophils / drug effects*
  • Neutrophils / metabolism
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Propofol / adverse effects
  • Propofol / pharmacology*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism

Substances

  • Anesthetics, Intravenous
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
  • GSK3B protein, human
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
  • Propofol

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants MOST100-2320-B-006-009-MY3 from Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan and 104CM-TMU-03 from Chi Mei Medical Center and Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.