Quantitative characterization of the effect of biogenic silver-based
nanoparticles on breast cancer cells by high content analysis
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the antitumor potential and cytotoxicity
induction mechanisms of green synthesized AgCl-NPs and Ag/AgCl-NPs
through image-based high content analysis method. The antitumor
potential of AgCl-NPs and Ag/AgCl-NPs was evaluated in breast cancer
BT-474 and MDA-MB-436 cell lines treated with 0-40 μg/mL AgCl-NPs or
0-12.5 μg/mL Ag/AgCl-NPs. Normal human retinal pigment epithelial 1
(RPE-1) cells were used for comparison. The growth rate of the RPE-1
cells treated with AgCl-NPs or Ag/AgCl-NPs was little affected, and no
significant changes in cell viability were observed. In these cells, the
nanoparticle treatments did not induce lysosomal damage, changes in
reactive oxygen species (ROS) production or a reduction in the
mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, the percentage of apoptotic
cells was minimally affected, reaching a maximum of 3.51% of the
population. The level of BT-474 and MDA-MB-436 cell proliferation was
markedly decreased, and cell viability was reduced by 64.19 and 46.19%
after treatment with AgCl-NPs and reduced by 98.36 and 82.29% after
treatment with Ag/AgCl-NPs. The cells also showed a significant increase
in ROS production and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, which
culminated in an increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells. BT-474
cells also presented lysosomal damage when treated with the highest
concentrations of both nanoparticle types, and actin polymerization was
observed after exposure to Ag/AgCl-NPs. Together, the results obtained
show overall cytotoxic effects of both AgCl-NPs and Ag/AgCl-NPs towards
breast cancer cells with negligible effects against healthy cells, which
suggests their promising anticancer and biomedical applications.