Fentanyl exerts an antitumor effect on papillary thyroid cancer by regulating the miR-204/KLF5 axis

Abstract

Fentanyl is a strong anesthetic analgesic drug that plays important roles in many types of cancers. However, the role of fentanyl in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) tumor development remains ambiguous. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential antitumor effects of fentanyl on PTC cell viability and invasion. Results of cell counting kit-8 and Transwell assays demonstrated that fentanyl treatment (5 ng/ml) reduced the viability and invasion of two PTC cells, TCP-1 and BCPAP. Our data subsequently showed that fentanyl induced antitumor effects by increasing miR-204 expressions. Furthermore, the results of luciferase reporter assays identified that miR-204 directly targets Krüppel-like transcription factor 5 (KLF5), which serves as tumor-promoting genes in many cancers. Further mechanistic analyses revealed that fentanyl performs its tumor-suppressive functions by regulating the miR-204/KLF5 axis in PTC cells. These results contribute to understanding the important role of fentanyl in treating PTC.