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Copper Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress in SW480 Human Colon Cancer Cell Line

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Abstract

Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) have various applications in biomedicine, owing to their unique properties. As the effect of CuNPs on the induction of oxidative stress and apoptosis in the human colorectal cancer cell line SW480 has not yet been studied, we investigated the toxicity and mechanism of action of these NPs in SW480 cells. MTT assay was performed to assess the effect of the particles on the viability of SW480 cells. The levels of oxidative stress were assessed after 24 h of treatment with CuNPs by evaluating the Reactive Oxygen Specious (ROS) production. The antioxidant enzyme activity was assessed using a colorimetric method. To investigate the effect of NPs on cellular apoptosis, Hoechst33258 staining was performed, and the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and p53 was evaluated by qRT-PCR. The MTT assay results showed that CuNPs inhibited the viability of SW480 cells. Moreover, the increase in ROS production at all three concentrations (31, 68, and 100 μg/ml) was significant. It has been observed that CuNPs lead to increased expression of Bax and p53, and decreased expression of Bcl-2. Hoechst staining was performed to confirm apoptosis. In conclusion, the induction of apoptosis demonstrated the anticancer potential of the CuNPs.

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Data availability

All data used and analyzed during the current study are included in this manuscript and are available from the corresponding author upon 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: 9911288441).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, 6517619657, Iran

    Parvin Ghasemi, Gholamreza Shafiee, Nasrin Ziamajidi & Roghayeh Abbasalipourkabir

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  1. Parvin Ghasemi
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  2. Gholamreza Shafiee
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  3. Nasrin Ziamajidi
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Contributions

P.Gh. conducted and analyzed laboratory tests. N.Z. interpreted the data. P.Gh. wrote the manuscript. R.A. and Gh.Sh. were project supervisors. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Roghayeh Abbasalipourkabir.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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This article does not contain any studies involving human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. The experimental procedure was approved by the Faculty of Medicine of the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (IR. UMSHA > REC.1399.929).

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Parvin Ghasemi and Gholamreza Shafiee are Equal first author.

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Ghasemi, P., Shafiee, G., Ziamajidi, N. et al. Copper Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress in SW480 Human Colon Cancer Cell Line. Biol Trace Elem Res 201, 3746–3754 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-022-03458-2

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