Synergistic effect of the combination of nanoparticulate Fe3O4 and Au with daunomycin on K562/A02 cells

Abstract

Bao-An Chen1, Yong-Yuan Dai1, Xue-Mei Wang2, Ren-Yun Zhang2, Wen-Lin Xu3, Hui-Ling Shen3, Feng Gao1, Qian Sun1, Xiao-Jing Deng1, Jia-hua Ding1, Chong Gao1, Yun-Yu Sun1, Jian Cheng1, Jun Wang1, Gang Zhao1, Ning-Na Chen11Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, P.R. China; 2State Key Lab of Bioelectronics, Chien-Shiung Wu Laboratory, Southeast University, Nanjing, P.R. China; 3Department of Hematology, The Affiliated People’s Hospital, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, P.R. ChinaAbstract: In this study, we have explored the possibility of the combination of the high reactivity of nano Fe3O4 or Au nanoparticles and daunomycin, one of the most important antitumor drugs in the treatment of acute leukemia clinically, to inhibit MDR of K562/A02 cells. Initially, to determine whether the magnetic nanoparticle Fe3O4 and Au can facilitate the anticancer drug to reverse the resistance of cancer cells, we have explored the cytotoxic effect of daunomycin (DNR) with and without the magnetic nano-Fe3O4 or nano-Au on K562 and K562/A02 cells by MTT assay. Besides, the intracellular DNR concentration and apoptosis of the K562/A02 cells was further investigated by flow cytometry and confocal fluorescence microscopic studies. The MDR1 gene expression of the K562/A02 cells was also studied by RT-PCR method. Our results indicate that 5.0 × 10−7M nano-Fe3O4 or 2.0 × 10−8M nano-Au is biocompatible and can apparently raise the intracellular DNR accumulation of the K562/A02 cells and increase the apoptosis of tumor cells. Moreover, our observations illustrate that although these two kinds of nanoparticles themselves could not lower the MDR1 gene expression of the K562/A02 cells, yet they could degrade the MDR1 gene level when combining with anticancer drug DNR. This raises the possibility to combine the nano-Fe3O4 or nano-Au with DNR to reverse the drug resistance of K562/A02 cells, which could offer a new strategy for the promising efficient chemotherapy of the leukemia patients.Keywords: nano-Fe3O4, nano-Au, multidrug resistance, leukemia K562/A02, daunomycin