Hemp Research Institute, Ondokuz Mayıs University, 55200, Samsun, Turkey.
Department of Nano-Science and Nano-Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ataturk University, 25240, Erzurum, Turkey.
Mol Biol Rep. 2023 Nov;50(11):9143-9151. doi: 10.1007/s11033-023-08817-3. Epub 2023 Sep 28.
Quantum dots are usually particles smaller than 100 nm and have a low toxic effect. This study aimed to bioconjugate the anticancer effective melatonin agonist to quantum dots and demonstrate its effects in two cancer lines. This is the first study that aims to examine the anticancer activity of ramelteon bioconjugation to quantum dots, providing a new perspective on the use of Melatonin and its derivatives in cancer.
For this purpose, first of all, cobalt sulfide (CoS) quantum dots were synthesized, bioconjugated and characterized with Punica granatum extract by green synthesis method. The effects of synthesized nanomaterials on neuroblastoma and prostate cancer cells were investigated. It was noted that nanomaterials reduced cell viability by 50% in neuroblastoma and prostate cancer lines at a dose of 50 µg/mL. Ramelteon bioconjugated nanomaterials reduced cancer cell viability by 1.4 times more than free melatonin. CoS quantum dots were determined to double the oxidative stress in the neuroblastoma cell line compared to the control, while no change was observed in prostate cancer. In the gene expression findings, it was observed that CoS nanoparticles caused an increase in the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes in the neuroblastoma cell line and induced key protein expression levels of pathways such as ROR-alpha in the prostate cancer cell line.
As a result, it was observed that the viability of the neuroblastoma cell line decreased with apoptosis induced by oxidative stress, while this effect was observed in the DU-145 cell line via the ROR-alpha pathway.
量子点通常是小于 100nm 的颗粒，具有低毒作用。本研究旨在将抗癌有效物质褪黑素激动剂与量子点进行生物偶联，并在两种癌细胞系中证明其效果。这是第一项旨在研究雷美替胺与量子点偶联的抗癌活性的研究，为褪黑素及其衍生物在癌症中的应用提供了新的视角。
为此，首先通过绿色合成法用石榴提取物合成、生物偶联并表征硫化钴（CoS）量子点。研究了合成纳米材料对神经母细胞瘤和前列腺癌细胞的影响。结果表明，纳米材料在神经母细胞瘤和前列腺癌细胞系中，剂量为 50μg/ml 时，使细胞活力降低 50%。与游离褪黑素相比，雷美替胺偶联的纳米材料使癌细胞活力降低了 1.4 倍。与对照组相比，CoS 量子点使神经母细胞瘤细胞系中的氧化应激增加了一倍，而在前列腺癌细胞中没有观察到变化。在基因表达研究中，观察到 CoS 纳米颗粒使神经母细胞瘤细胞系中与凋亡相关的基因表达水平增加，并诱导前列腺癌细胞系中 ROR-α等途径的关键蛋白表达水平。
结果表明，神经母细胞瘤细胞系的活力通过氧化应激诱导的凋亡而降低，而在 DU-145 细胞系中则通过 ROR-α途径观察到这种效应。
