Anesthetic-specific lncRNA and mRNA profile changes in blood during colorectal cancer resection

Prometastatic and antitumor effects of different anesthetics were analyzed in several studies with conflicting results. Underlying perioperative molecular mechanisms mediated by anesthetics potentially affecting tumor phenotype and metastasis are unclear. We hypothesized that anesthetic-specific lncRNA expression changes are induced in the blood circulation and play a role in tumor outcome. We performed high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR to identify lncRNA and mRNA expression changes affected by two regimes (propofol versus sevoflurane) in patients undergoing colorectal cancer resection. Blood cell-derived total RNA was isolated before and after resection and characterized by RNA sequencing. mRNA-lncRNA interactions and their role in cancer relevant signaling of differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified by bioinformatics analyses. Comparison of these two time points revealed 35 differentially expressed lncRNAs in the propofol-group, and 25 in the sevoflurane-group with eight shared by both. Two in the propofol-group, respectively 23 in the sevoflurane-group of in silico identified target-mRNAs were confirmed as differentially regulated in our NGS dataset. Pathway analysis was performed and identified cancer relevant canonical pathways for propofol. Target-mRNA analysis of sevoflurane showed a markedly worsened immunological response against cancer.