Mitogenic Effects of Phosphatidylcholine Nanoparticles on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Lecithins, mainly composed of the phospholipids phosphatidylcholines (PC), have many different uses in the pharmaceutical and clinical field. PC are involved in structural and biological functions as membrane trafficking processes and cellular signaling. Considering the increasing applications of lecithin-based nanosystems for the delivery of therapeutic agents, the aim of the present work was to determine the effects of phosphatidylcholine nanoparticles over breast cancer cellular proliferation and signaling. PC dispersions at 0.01 and 0.1% (w/v) prepared in buffer pH 7.0 and 5.0 were studied in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Neutral 0.1% PC-derived nanoparticles induced the activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway, increased cell viability and induced a 1.2 fold raise in proliferation. These biological effects correlated with the increase of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) content and its altered cellular localization. Results suggest that nanoparticles derived from PC dispersion prepared in buffer pH 7.0 may induce physicochemical changes in the plasma membrane of cancer cells which may affect EGFR cellular localization and/or activity, increasing activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway and inducing proliferation. Results from the present study suggest that possible biological effects of delivery systems based on lecithin nanoparticles should be taken into account in pharmaceutical formulation design.

An Interdisciplinary Computational/Experimental Approach to Evaluate Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticle Tumor Cytotoxicity

“…The two-layer nanoparticles with an outer layer of PC were expected to produce a slightly negative surface charge. Previously, it was shown that zeta potential measurements vary with the pH of the solution, with more acidic environments (pH ∼5) producing a more positively charged surface area, and neutral pH (∼7) producing nanoparticles with negative surface charges [69]. In comparison, HDL nanoparticles were expected to possess a neutral surface charge, as the HDL molecule is relatively neutral [70].…”

Aquaporin 8 Involvement in Human Cervical Cancer SiHa Migration via the EGFR-Erk1/2 Pathway

“…our experiments demonstrated that EGF transitorily induced EGFR phosphorylation, and EGFR kinase inhibitor, PD153035 inhibited cell migration induced by EGF in human SiHa. It has been well proved that EGFR is an essential regulator in tumorigenesis, including tumor cell migration (Gándola et al, 2014;de Melo Maia et al, 2014;Moerkens et al, 2014). Here we presented the results demonstrating that both EGFR and its kinase activity were required for EGFinduced AQP8 expression and cell migration in human cervical cancer SiHa cells (Figure 3).…”

[18F]Fluorocholine PET/CT Imaging of Liver Cancer: Radiopathologic Correlation with Tissue Phospholipid Profiling

“…Molecular species of PtC vary by the length and degree of saturation of their fatty acyl components, resulting in broad functional variations (7, 8). Higher levels of PtC species containing saturated fatty acyl groups have been found in many cancers (9), and are associated with biological aggressiveness in breast and thyroid cancer (10, 11).…”