Tarakci Elif, Esmkhani Sahra, Bayramova Jamila, Bilgin Feride Melisa, Kidik Kubra, Adiguzel Sevin, Tufan Yigithan, Morva Yilmaz Ahsen, Yilmaz Hulya, Duygulu Ozgur, Harbeck Serpil, Ercan Batur, Kaya Filiz, Aktoprakligil Aksu Digdem, Yazici Hulya, Yazici Hilal
Climate Change and Life Sciences, Biotechnology Research Group, TUBITAK-Marmara Research Center, 41470, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yeditepe University, 34755, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 5;15(1):7665. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-85228-3.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a genetically complex cancer type having treatment difficulties due to affecting multiple organs in complex anatomical sites. Radiotherapy resistance, chemotoxicity, post-surgery disability makes HNC treatment more complicated. Therefore, there is need to developed new treatment approaches. Nanoparticle-based therapies especially cerium oxide nanoparticles with its anti-cancer features, high catalytic activity, anti- or pro-oxidant and radio-protective properties give a boon for HNC treatment. In the current study, two dextran-coated cerium oxide nanoparticles (Dex-CeNPs) namely SD1 and SD2 were synthesized and characterized by using two types of dextran (D1 and D2) having distinct molecular weights and branching characteristics to understand their potential as a new HNC treatment strategy while evaluating the role of dextran type. The effectivity of the SD1 and SD2 on the HNC cell lines (A253, SCC-25, FaDu) were investigated by analyzing their cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation properties. Low IC value, high ROS generation and stability profiling of SD2 compared to SD1 indicates the distinct function of dextran type on Dex-CeNPs effectivity on HNC. To better elucidate the effectivity of SD2, flow cytometry analysis and pro-apoptotic (TP53, CASP3, BAX) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) gene expression profiling were investigated in detail. The findings indicate that SD2 exhibits an influence on head and neck cancer cells via the apoptotic pathway. Our research sets the framework for the development of Dex-CeNPs as remarkable nanotherapeutic candidates for treatment of head and neck cancer.
头颈癌（HNC）是一种基因复杂的癌症类型，由于其影响复杂解剖部位的多个器官，导致治疗困难。放疗抗性、化学毒性、术后残疾使头颈癌的治疗更加复杂。因此，需要开发新的治疗方法。基于纳米颗粒的疗法，特别是具有抗癌特性、高催化活性、抗氧化或促氧化以及放射防护特性的氧化铈纳米颗粒，为头颈癌的治疗带来了福音。在本研究中，合成了两种葡聚糖包被的氧化铈纳米颗粒（Dex-CeNPs），即SD1和SD2，并使用具有不同分子量和分支特征的两种葡聚糖（D1和D2）对其进行了表征，以了解它们作为一种新的头颈癌治疗策略的潜力，同时评估葡聚糖类型的作用。通过分析SD1和SD2对HNC细胞系（A253、SCC-25、FaDu）的细胞毒性、遗传毒性、活性氧（ROS）生成特性，研究了它们的有效性。与SD1相比，SD2的低IC值、高ROS生成和稳定性分析表明葡聚糖类型对头颈癌细胞中Dex-CeNPs有效性具有不同的作用。为了更好地阐明SD2的有效性，详细研究了流式细胞术分析以及促凋亡（TP53、CASP3、BAX）和抗凋亡（Bcl-2）基因表达谱。研究结果表明，SD2通过凋亡途径对头颈癌细胞产生影响。我们的研究为将Dex-CeNPs开发成为治疗头颈癌的卓越纳米治疗候选药物奠定了框架。
