Objective: To determine the effect of morphine on bladder cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro.
Materials and Methods: MTT assay was used to measure residual viable biomass of RT-112 human bladder cancer cells after 72 hours of morphine/morphine + naloxone treatment. Expression of mu-opioid receptors was assessed by Western blot and finally, apoptotic assays were carried out using confocal microscopy. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Student’s paired t-tests using Graphpad Prism (Graphpad Software, San Diego, CA).
Results: The MTT assays showed that morphine increased RT-112 cell growth (p<0.05), as too did naloxone-treated cells. When administered together, morphine and naloxone demonstrated a competitive relationship. Western blot analysis regarding mu-opioid receptor expression in RT-112 cells remains inconclusive. Morphine was also found to decrease the rate of apoptosis of RT-112 cells, an effect which naloxone inhibited.
Conclusions: This study provides evidence that morphine, at clinically relevant doses, causes RT-112 bladder cancer cell proliferation and at least some of this effect might be due to decreased apoptosis. Clinically, this suggests that managing bladder cancer pain with morphine, might have detrimental consequences on patient outcomes.
