TY - JOUR
T1 - Curcumin loaded on graphene nanosheets induced cell death in mammospheres from MCF-7 and primary breast tumor cells
AU - Jafarinejad-Farsangi, Saeideh
AU - Hashemi, Mahnaz Sadat
AU - Yazdi Rouholamini, Seyede Elmira
AU - Gharbi, Sdigheh
AU - Ansari-Asl, Zeinab
AU - Jafari, Elham
AU - Shiralizadeh Dezfuli, Amin
AU - Shahrokhi-Farjah, Mariam
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Elimination of tumor cells is still a therapeutic challenge for breast cancer (BC) in men and women. Mammospheres serve as valuable in vitro tools for evaluating tumor behavior and sensitivity to anticancer treatments. Graphene nanosheets with unique physicochemical properties have been considered as potential biomedical approaches for drug delivery, bioimaging, and therapy. Graphene oxide (GO) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are suitable nanocarriers for hydrophobic and low bioaccessible anti-tumor materials like curcumin. Despite extensive studies on the potential application of graphene nanosheets in medicine, our knowledge of how different cells function and respond to these nanoparticles remains limited. Here, we evaluated cell death in mammospheres from MCF-7 and primary tumor cells in response to curcumin loaded on graphene nanosheets. Mammospheres were exposed to graphene oxide-curcumin (GO-Cur) and graphene quantum dots-curcumin (GQDs-Cur), and the incidence of cell death was evaluated by Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide double staining and flow cytometry. Besides, the expression of miR-21, miR-29a, Bax, and Bcl-2 genes were assessed using RT-qPCR. We observed, GO, and GQDs had no cytotoxic effect on Kerman male breast cancer/71 (KMBC/71) and MCF-7 tumor cells, while curcumin induced death in more than 50% of tumor cells. GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur synergistically enhanced anti-tumor activity of curcumin. Moreover, GQDs-Cur induced cell death in almost all cells of KMBC/71 mammospheres (99%; p < 0.0001). In contrast, GO-Cur induced cell death in only 21% of MCF-7 mammosphere cells (p < 0.0001). Also, the expression pattern of miR-21, miR-29a, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in KMBC/71 and MCF-7 mammospheres was different in response to GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur. Although KMBC/71 and MCF-7 tumor cells had similar clinical features and displayed similar responses to curcumin, more investigations are needed to clarify the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying observed differences in response to GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur.
AB - Elimination of tumor cells is still a therapeutic challenge for breast cancer (BC) in men and women. Mammospheres serve as valuable in vitro tools for evaluating tumor behavior and sensitivity to anticancer treatments. Graphene nanosheets with unique physicochemical properties have been considered as potential biomedical approaches for drug delivery, bioimaging, and therapy. Graphene oxide (GO) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are suitable nanocarriers for hydrophobic and low bioaccessible anti-tumor materials like curcumin. Despite extensive studies on the potential application of graphene nanosheets in medicine, our knowledge of how different cells function and respond to these nanoparticles remains limited. Here, we evaluated cell death in mammospheres from MCF-7 and primary tumor cells in response to curcumin loaded on graphene nanosheets. Mammospheres were exposed to graphene oxide-curcumin (GO-Cur) and graphene quantum dots-curcumin (GQDs-Cur), and the incidence of cell death was evaluated by Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide double staining and flow cytometry. Besides, the expression of miR-21, miR-29a, Bax, and Bcl-2 genes were assessed using RT-qPCR. We observed, GO, and GQDs had no cytotoxic effect on Kerman male breast cancer/71 (KMBC/71) and MCF-7 tumor cells, while curcumin induced death in more than 50% of tumor cells. GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur synergistically enhanced anti-tumor activity of curcumin. Moreover, GQDs-Cur induced cell death in almost all cells of KMBC/71 mammospheres (99%; p < 0.0001). In contrast, GO-Cur induced cell death in only 21% of MCF-7 mammosphere cells (p < 0.0001). Also, the expression pattern of miR-21, miR-29a, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in KMBC/71 and MCF-7 mammospheres was different in response to GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur. Although KMBC/71 and MCF-7 tumor cells had similar clinical features and displayed similar responses to curcumin, more investigations are needed to clarify the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying observed differences in response to GO-Cur and GQDs-Cur.
KW - breast tumor cells
KW - curcumin
KW - graphene oxide
KW - graphene quantum dots
KW - mammosphere
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85108385654
U2 - 10.1088/1748-605X/ac0400
DO - 10.1088/1748-605X/ac0400
M3 - Article
C2 - 34020433
AN - SCOPUS:85108385654
SN - 1748-6041
VL - 16
JO - Biomedical Materials (Bristol)
JF - Biomedical Materials (Bristol)
IS - 4
M1 - 045040
ER -