Confirming intrinsic pathway apoptosis event in cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa) treated with hybrid nanoliposomes

Abstract

Cancer targeted nanotherapy represent an exciting eld in the search for new cancer speci c therapies to avoid conventional chemotherapy side effects. Because cancer cells usually have malfunctioning apoptotic machinery which favors survival pathways and drug resistance. Cancer cell apoptosis is the favorable event to be induced in any new anticancer agent develop- ment. Nanotherapy goals are to elevate therapeutic ef ciency, selectivity, and overcome drug resistance as major obstacle in cancer treatment. Hybrid nanoliposomes (nHLs) may ful ll all these features in cancer therapeutics. We have previously dem- onstrated the ability of in house synthesized nHLs to inhibit HeLa cell line proliferation and study preliminary the induction of apoptosis as a consequences of that inhibition. In order to con rm the event of apoptosis in HeLa cell line incubated with the synthesized nHLs we exposed HeLa cells to inhibition concentration 50 (IC50) of previously synthesized hybrid nanoli- posomes. Mechanism of apoptosis induction was determined using mitochondrial membrane potential disruption, caspase-3 activity and single cell gel electrophoresis as well as DNA fragmentation assay. All apoptosis detection procedures used gave a clear de ned signi cant indication that nHLs was capable of induce apoptosis in HeLa cells through intrinsic pathway. This result needs further investigation to con rm nHLs as potential nanotherapy.