Zheng Wei, Xu Yan-Ming, Wu Dan-Dan, Yao Yue, Liang Zhan-Ling, Tan Heng Wee, Lau Andy T Y
Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Epigenetics, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, People's Republic of China.
Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Epigenetics, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, People's Republic of China; Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; GRIAC Research Institute, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2018 Jan 1;495(1):899-903. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.11.074. Epub 2017 Nov 12.
Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconducting nanocrystals with unique optical properties. When coated with shell/capping, QDs are not deleterious to cells and organisms. However, when QDs are retained in the cellular environment for a certain period of time, their coatings may be degraded, yielding "naked" QDs. Although some studies have documented the acute effects of cadmium telluride (CdTe) QDs in various cell lines, however, to our knowledge, there are no published studies on the chronic effects of CdTe QDs in normal lung cells. In this study, we therefore sought to study the effects of CdTe QDs of various particle sizes on their cytotoxicity and carcinogenicity in normal human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). A total of three particle sizes of CdTe QD with emission maximum at 520, 580, and 730 nm were employed (abbreviated as 520Q, 580Q, and 730Q, respectively). Our results indicated that acute exposure to 520Q (∼2.04 nm in diameter) and 580Q (∼3.24 nm in diameter) elicited dose-dependent cytotoxicity; while acute exposure to 730Q (∼5.40 nm in diameter) elicited negligible cytotoxicity in BEAS-2B cells. Notably, chronic exposure to CdTe QD of all three tested particle sizes induced BEAS-2B cell transformation as evidenced by enhanced cell migration and anchorage-independent growth on soft agar. Taken together, our findings suggest that CdTe QDs are potent human lung carcinogens.
量子点（QDs）是具有独特光学性质的半导体纳米晶体。当包覆壳层/封端剂时，量子点对细胞和生物体无害。然而，当量子点在细胞环境中保留一段时间后，其包覆层可能会降解，产生“裸”量子点。尽管一些研究记录了碲化镉（CdTe）量子点在各种细胞系中的急性效应，然而，据我们所知，尚无关于CdTe量子点对正常肺细胞慢性效应的已发表研究。因此，在本研究中，我们试图研究不同粒径的CdTe量子点对正常人支气管上皮细胞（BEAS-2B）的细胞毒性和致癌性的影响。总共使用了三种发射峰分别在520、580和730nm的CdTe量子点粒径（分别简称为520Q、580Q和730Q）。我们的结果表明，急性暴露于520Q（直径约2.04nm）和580Q（直径约3.24nm）会引发剂量依赖性细胞毒性；而急性暴露于730Q（直径约5.40nm）在BEAS-2B细胞中引发的细胞毒性可忽略不计。值得注意的是，对所有三种测试粒径的CdTe量子点进行慢性暴露均诱导了BEAS-2B细胞转化，这通过细胞迁移增强和在软琼脂上的非锚定依赖性生长得以证明。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明CdTe量子点是强效的人类肺癌致癌物。
