ArticlePloS one2021
The synthetic opioid fentanyl enhances viral replication in vitro.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Single cell RNA transcriptome response to fentanyl use in persons with HIV infection.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Stimulation of Human Adenovirus Infection Modulated by Emerging Micropollutants.Food and environmental virology · 2026Article
- Modeling the impact of changing drug markets and structural determinants on HCV and/or HIV transmission among people who inject drugs in the United States: A rural and urban comparison.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Article
- Illicit Fentanyl Use and Hepatitis C Virus Seroconversion Among People Who Inject Drugs in Tijuana and San Diego: Results From a Binational Cohort Study.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
- The Impact of Drugs and Substance Abuse on Viral Pathogenesis-A South African Perspective.Viruses · 2024Review
- Effect of fentanyl on HIV expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- The Synthetic Opioid Fentanyl Increases HIV Replication and Chemokine Co-Receptor Expression in Lymphocyte Cell Lines.Viruses · 2023Article
- The synthetic opioid fentanyl increases HIV replication and chemokine co-receptor expression in vitro.Journal of neurovirology · 2022Article
- Drugs of Abuse and Their Impact on Viral Pathogenesis.Viruses · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The US is in the midst of a major drug epidemic fueled in large part by the widespread recreational use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Persons with opioid use disorder are at significant risk for transmission of injection-associated infections such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Commonly abused substances may antagonize immune responses and promote viral replication. However, the impact of synthetic opioids on virus replication has not been well explored. Thus, we evaluated the impact of fentanyl and carfentanil using in vitro systems that replicate infectious viruses. Fentanyl was used in cell lines replicating HBV or HCV at concentrations of 1 ng, 100 ng, and 10 ug. Viral protein synthesis was quantified by ELISA, while apoptosis and cell death were measured by M30 or MTT assays, respectively. HCV replicative fitness was evaluated in a luciferase-based system. RNAseq was performed to evaluate cellular gene regulation in the presence of fentanyl. Low dose fentanyl had no impact on HCV replication in Huh7.5JFH1 hepatocytes; however, higher doses significantly enhanced HCV replication. Similarly, a dose-dependent increase in HCV replicative fitness was observed in the presence of fentanyl. In the HepG2.2.15 hepatocyte cell line, fentanyl caused a dose-dependent increase in HBV replication, although only a higher doses than for HCV. Addition of fentanyl resulted in significant apoptosis in both hepatocyte cell lines. Cell death was minimal at low drug concentrations. RNAseq identified a number of hepatocyte genes that were differentially regulated by fentanyl, including those related to apoptosis, the antiviral / interferon response, chemokine signaling, and NFκB signaling. Collectively, these data suggest that synthetic opioids promote viral replication but may have distinct effects depending on the drug dose and the viral target. As higher viral loads are associated with pathogenesis and virus transmission, additional research is essential to an enhanced understanding of opioid-virus pathogenesis and for the development of new and optimized treatment strategies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.