Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of sufentanil on autophagy, apoptosis and proliferation of cervical cancer cells SiHa. Methods SiHa cells were treated with sufentanil (3. 125, 6. 25, 12. 5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 nmol / L ) . Cell viability was measured by CCK8. Four concentrations of sufentanil (0, 25, 50, 100 nmol / L) were then selected to treat SiHa cells for 24 h for the following experiments. The apoptosis and proliferation of SiHa cells were measured by flow cytometry and colony formation assay. The level of LC3 in each group was measured by immunofluorescence method. The levels of autophagy-related proteins (LC3Ⅱ/ LC3Ⅰ, Beclin1, ATG7 ), proliferation-and apoptosis-related proteins ( P21, Survivin ) were detected by Western blotting. The expression levels of cell proliferation-related genes (Ki67, PCNA) were detected by RT-PCR. Results The viability of SiHa cells decreased with the increased concentration of sufentanil and the effect was in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of LC3Ⅱ/ LC3 Ⅰ, Beclin1 and ATG7 in SiHa cells treated with 50 nmol / L and 100 nmol / L sufentanil were signif- icantly higher than those treated with 0 nmol / L sufentanil. The immunofluorescence method showed that the fluorescence signal of LC3 in SiHa cells treated with 50 and 100 nmol / L sufentanil was higher than that in cells treated with 0 nmol / L sufentanil. Flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate of SiHa cells treated with 50 and 100 nmol / L sufentanil was higher than that of cells treated with 0 nmol / L sufentanil. Clone formation assay showed that the clonal formation rate of SiHa cells was decreased after 50 and 100 nmol / L sufentanil treatment. The expression levels of Survivin, Ki67 and PCNA were decreased, and the expression level of P21 was increased. Conclusion Sufentanil can promote autophagy and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, and inhibit their proliferation, which may be through the regulation of autophagy-, apoptosis- and proliferation-related proteins or genes.

Key words: cervical cancer, sufentanil, cell autophagy, apoptosis, cell proliferation