Capped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2022 Oct 27

PMID 36296460

Authors

Blassan P George

Naresh K Rajendran

Nicolette N Houreld

Heidi Abrahamse

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

(RF) has widely been used to treat various ailments, including pain, diabetes, and cancer. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have drawn attention in modern healthcare applications. Hence, we designed this study to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using root extract to investigate its synergistic cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells and explore the possible cell death mechanism. ZnO NPs were synthesized via green synthesis using root extract, and the effect on MCF-7 cells was determined by looking at cellular morphology, proliferation, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The results showed that cellular proliferation was reduced following treatment with capped zinc oxide nanoparticles (RFZnO NPs), while cytotoxicity and ROS were increased. There was also an increase in apoptosis as indicated by the significant increase in cytoplasmic cytochrome c and caspase 3/7 (markers of apoptosis), as well as increased levels of pro-apoptotic proteins (p53, Bax) and decreased levels of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2). In conclusion, these results showed that RFZnO NPs induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells via a mitochondria-mediated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway and suggest the use of acetone root extract of for the treatment of cancer-related ailments.

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