AgNPs and Ag/C225 Exert Anticancerous Effects via Cell Cycle Regulation and Cytotoxicity Enhancement

Abstract

Currently, cancer has become the leading cause of deaths and is a serious threat to human health. Nanotechnology-based medical applications are developing rapidly, especially in anticancer research, as nanomaterials can be retained in the cell after their entry across the cell membrane, making them potential candidates for application in the diagnosis and treatment of tumours. Here, we prepared silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver/cetuximab (Ag/C225) particles of approximately 20 nm and investigated their inhibitory effect on proliferation of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE and laryngeal carcinoma cell line HEp-2. The MTT assay was used to determine their half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values. Electron microscopy revealed no obvious morphological differences between the prepared AgNPs and Ag/C225. Treatment of both cell lines with AgNPs and Ag/C225 increased the proportion of cells in the G0/G1 stage and decreased the proportion of cells in the S stage. AgNP and Ag/C225 treatments increased the expression of apoptotic proteins Bax and P21 and decreased the expression of Bcl-2 in CNE cells, compared to control cells. Ag/C225 is internalised by CNE cells, and it enhances X-irradiation-induced cytotoxicity. These results help increase the understanding of the anticancer effect of AgNPs and Ag/C225 and explore their application as radiosensitisers.