Green Lead Nanoparticles Induced Apoptosis and Cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 Cells by Inducing Reactive Oxygen Species and Caspase 3/7 Enzymes

Abstract

Nanoparticles are widely used in the pharmaceutical, agriculture, and food processing industries. In this study, we have synthesized green lead nanoparticles (gPbNPs) by using an extract of Ziziphus spina-christi leaves and determined their cytotoxic and apoptotic effect on the human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line. gPbNPs were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The toxicity of gPbNPs was determined on the MDA-MB-231 cell line using MTT and NRU assays and as a result cell viability was reduced in a concentration-dependent manner. MDA-MB-231 cells were more sensitive at the highest concentration of gPbNPs exposure. In this experiment, we observed the production of intracellular ROS in cells, and induction of caspase 3/7 was higher in cells at 42 µg/ml of gPbNPs. Moreover, the Bax gene was upregulated and the Bcl-2 gene was downregulated and increased caspase 3/7 activity confirmed the apoptotic effect of gPbNPs in cells. Our observation showed that gPbNPs induced cell toxicity, increased generation of intracellular ROS, and gene expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that gPbNPs executed toxic effects on the MDA-MB-231 cell line through activating caspase 3/7 activity.