FGF2 and nasopharyngeal carcinoma: To further elucidate whether the tumor suppressive effects of miR-16 in NPC was directly mediated by FGF2, we cotransfected CNE-1 and CNE-2 cells with miR-16 mimics or miR-Ctrl together with either the empty vector or the FGF2 plasmid, which encoded the full-length coding sequence of FGF2 lacking its 3′-UTR, and we performed MTT, colony formation, anchorage-independent soft-agar, wound healing, and transwell migration/invasion assays.