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European Journal of Medical Research
Published in: European Journal of Medical Research 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Esketamine | Research

Potential ‘anti-cancer’ effects of esketamine on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in esophageal squamous carcinoma cells

Authors: Chao Li, Jingpu Shi, Sisi Wei, Huiqun Jia

Published in: European Journal of Medical Research | Issue 1/2023

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Abstract

Background

Esketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is commonly used for anesthesia and analgesia clinically. It was reported to negatively regulate cell proliferation, metastasis and apoptosis in cancer cells, including lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. However, its impact on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) malignance and underlying mechanism remain elusive. This study was aimed to investigate the antitumor effects of esketamine on ESCC in vitro.

Methods

ESCC cell lines (KYSE-30 and KYSE-150) were cultured and treated with different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1, 2 mM) of esketamine. Their proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were assessed with various assays. Furthermore, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis and GO/KEGG enrichment analysis were applied to characterize the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) with or without esketamine treatment. Some key proteins identified from proteomic analysis were further validated with Western blotting and bioinformatics analysis.

Results

Esketamine significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and promoted apoptosis of the both types of cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. A total of 321 common DEPs, including 97 upregulated and 224 downregulated proteins, were found with HPLC–MS analyses. GO/KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that esketamine affected cell population proliferation, GTPase activity and Apelin signaling pathway. The ERCC6L, AHR and KIF2C protein expression was significantly downregulated in these ESCC cells treated with esketamine compared to the controls and their changes were associated with the suppressive effects of esketamine on ESCC through bioinformatics analysis.

Conclusions

Our work demonstrated that esketamine has potential anti-ESCC properties in vitro but subjected to further in vivo and clinical study.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Potential ‘anti-cancer’ effects of esketamine on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in esophageal squamous carcinoma cells
Authors
Chao Li
Jingpu Shi
Sisi Wei
Huiqun Jia
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
European Journal of Medical Research / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 2047-783X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-023-01511-x

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