Frontiers in pharmacology
Propranolol attenuates the malignant biological behaviors of renal cancer cells partly through modulation of the IL-6/PI3K/AKT signaling axis
By Lu D, Xie X, Liu Y and 4 others.
Abstract
Objective
To investigate the effects of propranolol on the malignant biological behaviours of renal cancer cells and explore the potential involvement of the IL-6/PI3K/AKT signalling axis.
Methods
786-O and Caki-2 ccRCC cells were treated with gradient propranolol, followed by CCK-8, wound-healing, Transwell and flow cytometry assays to test cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Western blot was applied to measure proteins associated with apoptosis, EMT, IL-6 and PI3K/AKT pathway. A xenograft nude mouse model was constructed to verify propranolol's anti-tumor activity in vivo. RNA-seq combined with GO/KEGG enrichment was used to screen underlying signaling pathways. IL-6 overexpression rescue assays were performed to validate IL-6's functional role in propranolol-mediated phenotypes.
