GNRs@SiO2-FA in combination with radiotherapy induces the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by modulating the expression of apoptosis-related proteins

Gao,Bin; Shen,Lei; He,Ke-Wu; Xiao,Wei-Hua

doi:10.3892/ijmm.2015.2358

GNRs@SiO2-FA in combination with radiotherapy induces the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by modulating the expression of apoptosis-related proteins

Authors:
- Bin Gao
- Lei Shen
- Ke-Wu He
- Wei-Hua Xiao
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Affiliations: Department of Interventional Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230061, P.R. China, School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230022, P.R. China
Published online on: September 30, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2015.2358
Pages: 1282-1290
Copyright: © Gao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the apoptosis of the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HepG2, induced by treatment with folic acid-conjugated silica-coated gold nanorods (GNRs@SiO2-FA) in combination with radiotherapy, and to determine the involvement of apoptosis-related proteins. An MTT colorimetric assay was used to assess the biocompatibility of GNRs@SiO2-FA. The distribution of GNRs@SiO2-FA into the cells was observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). HepG2 cells cultured in vitro were divided into the following 4 groups: i)the control group (untreated), ii) the GNRs@SiO2-FA group, iii) the radiotherapy group (iodine 125 seeds) and iv) the combination group (treated with GNRs@SiO2-FA and iodine 125 seeds) groups. The apoptosis of the HepG2 cells was detected by flow cytometry. The concentration range of <40 µg/ml GNRs@SiO2-FA was found to be safe for the biological activity of the HepG2 cells. GNRs@SiO2-FA entered the cytoplasm through endocytosis. The apoptotic rates of the HepG2 cells were higher in the GNRs@SiO2-FA and radiotherapy groups than in the control group (P<0.05). The apoptotic rate was also significantly higher in the combination group than the GNRs@SiO2-FA and radiotherapy groups (P<0.05). Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the combination of GNRs@SiO2-FA and radiotherapy more effectively induces the apoptosis of HepG2 cells. These apoptotic effects are achieved by increasing the protein expression of Bax and caspase-3, and inhibiting the protein expression of Bcl-2 and Ki-67. The combination of GNRs@SiO2-FA and radiotherapy may thus prove to be a new approach in the treatment of primary liver cancer.

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