Li Kunmeng, Xia Chunhui, Wang Baiqi, Chen Hetao, Wang Tong, He Qian, Cao Hailong, Wang Yu
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China.
Pharmacy Department, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, 161006, China.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2017 Jul 1;155:193-199. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.04.019. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
Liver cancer (LC) is a serious disease that threatens human lives. LC has a high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. LC stem cells (LCSCs) play critical roles in these processes. However, the mechanism remains unclear. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be used to determine cell apoptosis and proliferation. However, studies of the effects of exogenous nanomaterials on LCSC ROS changes are rarely reported. In this work, quantum dots (QDs) were prepared using a hydrothermal method, and QDs were further modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) using a chemical approach. The effects of QDs, PEG-modified QDs (PEG@QDs) and BSA-modified QDs (BSA@QDs) on the amounts of ROS in liver cancer PLC/PRF/5 (PLC) cells and liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) were principally investigated. The results showed that when the concentration of QDs, PEG@QDs, and BSA@QDs were 10nM and 90nM, the ROS amount in PLC cells increased by approximately 2- to 5-fold. However, when the concentrations of these nanomaterials were 10nM and 90nM, ROS levels in LCSCs were reduced by approximately 50%. This critical path potentially leads to drug resistance and recurrence of LC. This work provides an important indication for further study of LC drug resistance and recurrence.
肝癌（LC）是一种威胁人类生命的严重疾病。肝癌具有高复发率和不良预后。肝癌干细胞（LCSCs）在这些过程中起关键作用。然而，其机制仍不清楚。活性氧（ROS）可用于确定细胞凋亡和增殖。然而，关于外源性纳米材料对LCSC ROS变化影响的研究报道很少。在这项工作中，采用水热法制备量子点（QDs），并使用化学方法用聚乙二醇（PEG）和牛血清白蛋白（BSA）对量子点进行进一步修饰。主要研究了量子点、PEG修饰的量子点（PEG@QDs）和BSA修饰的量子点（BSA@QDs）对肝癌PLC/PRF/5（PLC）细胞和肝癌干细胞（LCSCs）中ROS含量的影响。结果表明，当量子点、PEG@QDs和BSA@QDs的浓度为10nM和90nM时，PLC细胞中的ROS含量增加了约2至5倍。然而，当这些纳米材料的浓度为10nM和90nM时，LCSCs中的ROS水平降低了约50%。这一关键途径可能导致肝癌的耐药性和复发。这项工作为进一步研究肝癌耐药性和复发提供了重要线索。
