Abstract
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in many fields of industry and medicine. Despite the well-established antimicrobial activity, AgNPs are foreseen to be used as anticancer drugs due to the unusual feature—inability to induce drug resistance in cancer cells. The aim of the study was to assess biological activity of AgNPs against MDA-MB-436 cells. The cells were derived from triple-negative breast cancer, a type of breast cancer with poor prognosis and is particularly difficult to cure. AgNPs were toxic to MDA-MB-436 cells and the probable mechanism of toxicity was the induction of oxidative stress. These promising effects, giving the opportunity to use AgNPs as an anti-cancer agent should, however, be treated with caution in the light of further results. Namely, the treatment of MDA-MB-436 cells with AgNPs was associated with the increased secretion of several cytokines and chemokines, which were important in breast cancer metastasis. Finally, changes in the actin cytoskeleton of MDA-MB-436 cells under the influence of AgNPs treatment were also observed.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed female cancer in the world and the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women [1].An extremely fatal subtype of breast cancer is a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by a lack of expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and non-elevated expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)
Statistical analysis showed a significant decrease in the viability of MDA-MB-436 cells after treatment with 20 or 200 nm AgNPs at concentrations of 25–100 μg/mL
The MTT assay showed that 20 or 200 nm AgNPs were toxic to MDA-MB-436 cells in the incubation time and NPs concentration-dependent manner
Summary
According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed female cancer in the world and the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women [1].An extremely fatal subtype of breast cancer is a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by a lack of expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and non-elevated expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2). The attention of oncologists and scientists has focused on nanotechnology.
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