Gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles trigger apoptosis in the process of thermo-radiotherapy of U87-MG human glioma cells

Abstract

Recently, gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (Au@IONPs) have received a great deal of attention in cancer therapy. In this in vitro study we aimed to investigate the anti-cancer effects of Au@IONPs core-shell nanoparticles when applied in thermo-radiotherapy. Moreover, we investigated the level of apoptosis induced in U87-MG human glioma cells after receiving a combinatorial treatment regimen (Au@IONPs + hyperthermia + radiotherapy). Firstly, the Au@IONPs nanocomplex was prepared and characterized. Cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles (various concentrations; 4 h incubation time) was investigated on U87-MG cells and finally the concentrations of 10 and 15 µg/mL were selected for further studies. After incubation of the cells with nanoparticles, they received hyperthermia (43 °C; 1 h) and then were immediately exposed to 6 MV X-ray (2 and 4 Gy). Following the treatments, MTT assay was used to analyze cell viability and flow cytometry was used to determine the level of apoptosis in each treatment group. The results revealed that nanoparticles have no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations lower than 10 µg/mL. Also, we observed that nanoparticles are able to enhance the cytotoxic effect of hyperthermia and radiation. The major mode of cell death was apoptosis when nanoparticles, hyperthermia and radiation were concomitantly applied to cancer cells. In conclusion, Au@IONP nanoparticle can be considered as a good thermo-radio-sensitizer which triggers significant levels of apoptosis in cancer therapy. In this in vitro study, we report the anti-cancer effects of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (Au@IONPs) when applied in thermo-radiotherapy.

Gadolinium-Based Nanoparticles for Theranostic MRI-Guided Radiosensitization in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…The tumor growth curve in Figure 4 showed that the introduction of the AGuIX during the radiation process result in a markedly dose increasing effect compared to radiotherapy alone, thereby inhibiting the growth of solid tumors. Tumor cell apoptosis after radiotherapy is the basis of cell death (Garcia-Barros et al, 2003; Neshastehriz et al, 2018), and apoptosis imaging in vivo can achieve early detection of tumor post-radiation response, as well as accurate prediction of radiotherapy efficacy (Verheij, 2008). The 99m Tc-duramycin is a relatively mature apoptosis imaging agent and has been used in apoptotic imaging of various tumors (Johnson et al, 2013; Audi et al, 2015; Elvas et al, 2016).…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Citrate-Stabilized Gold-Coated Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

“…Many of the procedures found in the literature, however, are based on non-aqueous SPION synthesis; e.g., thermal decomposition or micro-emulsion methods [ 24 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], which require potentially harmful substances or solvents in steps of their synthesis. For aqueous and non-harmful procedures [ 27 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], no studies were published, which shows the systematic optimization of the synthesis parameters and the evaluation of their effects on Au-SPION properties such as particle size, dispersion stability and reproducibility.…”

Iron Metabolism in Cancer

“…Both iron and ROS are cautiously managed to maintain balance or to stabilize their functions, thus a potential kind of cancer therapy is focused on disrupting the redox homeostasis by introducing or eliminating iron in the cell. Iron overload presented as ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) or iron complexes, remarkably inhibits cell survival in various cancer types [5,163,164]. Previous studies have shown that FAC induces cytoplasmic vacuolation formation in an ATG5/ATG7-dependent manner, with elevated LC3-II (autophagic marker) [159].…”