In vitro cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles in primary rat hepatic stellate cells

Abstract

The number of studies concerning silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has increased, due in part to their potential uses for biomedical applications. These particles have been demonstrated in the elimination of the hepatitis B virus and the inhibition of the proliferation of various cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. Thus, studies on AgNPs may lead to a more efficacious and safer therapeutic approach for chronic liver injury. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are essential interstitial cells in the liver and are the predominant therapeutic target in hepatic fibrosis and liver cirrhosis; however, the intracellular effects of AgNPs on HSCs remain to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of AgNPs on the function and metabolism of HSCs. Various concentrations of AgNPs, with a diameter of 10 or 30‑50 nm, were incubated with HSCs. Transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assays, and apoptosis and proliferation detection kits were used to analyze the effects of AgNPs on cell proliferation and metabolism. These studies demonstrated that AgNPs inhibited the proliferation of HSCs and induced their apoptosis in a size- and dose‑dependent manner.

Mechanisms Underlying Cytotoxicity Induced by Engineered Nanomaterials: A Review of In Vitro Studies

“…WST-8 assay was conducted to determine the cytotoxic potential of two-dimensional carbon-based NMs, including graphene sheets (GS) and graphene oxide (GO) [ 38 ], as well as to measure metabolic activity of six cell lines from different organs and species after exposure to silica NPs [ 45 ], and carbon black (CB), single-wall carbon nanotube, silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) and zinc dioxide (ZnO) NPs [ 19 ]. In another study, WST-8 endpoint was used to evaluate the cell proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) treated with silver NPs [ 46 ]. Likewise, WST-1 derived assay is also a colorimetric technique that allows the quantitative determination of cell viability.…”

“…Sun et al . [ 46 ] performed this assay to assess the acute toxicity of silver NPs on HSCs cells. Likewise, LDH release was measured to determine the cytotoxicity of cationic surfactant-based nanoparticles and micelles on neutrophils [ 50 ], and of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in four different cell lines [ 51 ].…”

“…Sun et al . [ 46 ] applied this technology to study the behavior of HSCs cells after treatment with silver NPs. In this same line, an electrical measurement known as Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) was applied to real-time monitoring of in vitro cellular cytotoxicity of silica nanotubes [ 58 ] and gold NPs [ 47 ].…”

Advanced in vitro systems for efficacy and toxicity testing in nanomedicine

“…These discrepancies could derive from the loss of functions that secondary cell cultures must inevitably encounter, due to genomic alterations or as a result of repeated passages in culture, which is likely to select cells with a particular culture-conditioned biochemical phenotype. However, it should be noted that, a correlation between the response obtained by using primary and immortalised cells has been observed in some situations, including studies testing NPs with a well-known grade of cytotoxic activity, i.e., Ag NPs and Zn NPs (68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74).…”

A perspective of mitochondrial dysfunction in rats treated with silver and titanium nanoparticles (AgNPs and TiNPs)

“…NPs can also be transported across cell membranes, especially into mitochondria [16]. Besides being able to accumulate in hepatic cells, for example and mitochondria [17,18]. Although it is unclear whether nanomaterials target the mitochondria directly or act secondary to oxidative stress, they can damage the organelle [12,19].…”