Enhancement of radiation effect and increase of apoptosis in lung cancer cells by thio-glucose-bound gold nanoparticles at megavoltage radiation energies

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) (1–1,000 nm) modified by glucose have been considered to increase the toxicity of radiotherapy in human malignant cells. We report on the effect on lung-cancer cells, A549, of thio-glucose-bound gold nanoparticles (Glu-GNPs) with a size of 13 nm, combined with megavoltage (MV) X-ray. Viewed by transmission electron microscopy, Glu-GNPs were mainly distributed in the membrane-coated vesicles of A549 cells. The combination of Glu-GNPs with radiation resulted in a significant growth inhibition, compared with radiation alone (P < 0.05). Glu-GNPs enhanced radiation effect by increasing the ratio of A549 cells in the G2/M phase, and inducing more apoptosis. Furthermore, when combined with radiation, Glu-GNPs resulted in deregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax and active caspase 3. Our results suggest that Glu-GNPs, as a new radiosensitizer, combined with radiation, can increase cytotoxicity on A549 cells not only by arresting the G2/M phase, but also by increasing apoptosis—probably via regulating the expression of Bcl-2 family of proteins and mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

文章引用产品列表