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Gold nanoparticles induce apoptosis in HCT-116 colon cancer cell line

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Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to investigate the apoptotic and anti-cancer effect of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on apoptosis in HCT-116 colon cancer cells.

Materials and methods

The level of ROS and apoptosis were determined by fluorimetric method and flow cytometry and Hoechst 33,258 staining, respectively. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of Bax, Bcl-2, CCNB1, P53 genes was evaluated by qRT-PCR method in HCT116 cells.

Results

The experimental results of this study showed that treatment with nanoparticles led to a significant increase in expression of Bax, P53 genes and a significant decrease in the expression of Bcl-2, CCNB1 genes at concentrations of 25 and 50 µg/ml during 48 h of incubation, compared to control cells (p < 0.05). The flow cytometric results (Annexin-pI) and Hoechst 33,258 staining also showed a significant increase in the level of apoptosis in the treated cells, depending on the concentration and time.

Conclusions

The results of this study showed that AuNPs cause apoptosis at the half-maximal inhibitory concentration in the HCT-116 tumor cells during 48 h of incubation.

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Data Availability

All data used and analyzed during the current study are included in this manuscript and available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (No: 990216734).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

A.M. conducted and analyzed the lab tests. N.Z. and H.Kh. interpreted the results. H.D. wrote the main manuscript. R.A. was the supervisor of the project. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roghayeh Abbasalipourkabir.

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Conflict of interest

There is no competing interest.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. The experimental procedure was approved at the Faculty of Medicine, at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSHA > REC.1399.115).

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Cite this article

Maddah, A., Ziamajidi, N., Khosravi, H. et al. Gold nanoparticles induce apoptosis in HCT-116 colon cancer cell line. Mol Biol Rep 49, 7863–7871 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07616-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07616-6

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