The Effects of 8-Hydroxyquinoline-Coated Graphene Oxide on Cell Death and Apoptosis in Breast(MCF-7) and Colorectal(SW742) Cancer Cell Lines

Inroduction & Breast and colorectal cancers are of the major causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The anticancer properties of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ), and the increasing use of graphene oxide (GO) as a drug delivery system with anti-cancerous properties, led us to investigate toxicity and apoptosis-induction capability of 8HQ-coated GO on breast and colorectal cancer cells compared to normal breast cells. The breast cancer (MCF-7), colorectal cancer (SW-742) and normal breast (MCF-10) cell lines were treated with several doses of 8-HQ-coated GO for 12, 24, and 48 hours. The toxicity of nanocomposite was measured using MTT assay and the effect of nanocomposite on cell apoptosis were determined by examining the expression of P53, P21, Bax and Bcl-2 genes, as well as Annexin-V /PI apoptosis assay. There were significantly increased cell death in nanocomposite-treated colorectal and breast cancer cells, especially MCF-7, compared to treated normal breast cells. A significant increased expression of P53, P21 and Bax genes and reduced expression of Bcl-2 gene were found in both treated cancer cell lines compared to the normal breast cell line. Annexin-V/PI assay also illustrated a significant induction of apoptosis in the cancerous cell lines, especially MCF-7, following nanocomposite treatment.
Conclussion: Overall, 8HQ-coated GO has toxicity for breast and colorecctal cancer cell lines, and one of the mechanisms through which this nanocomposite can induce cell death is induction of apoptosis. With complementary and in vivo studies, this nanocomposite can be suggested as a nano-drug with anti-cancer properties.