Short communication, Note
Gold Nanoparticles Impinge on Nucleoli and the Stress Response in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells
Mohamed Kodiha
; Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Hicham Mahboubi
; Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Dusica Maysinger
; Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Ursula Stochaj
; Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Abstract
Cancer cells can take up gold nanoparticles of different morphologies. These particles interact with the plasma membrane and often travel to intracellular organelles. Among organelles, the nucleus is especially susceptible to the damage that is inflicted by gold nanoparticles. Located inside the nucleus, nucleoli are specialized compartments that transcribe ribosomal RNA genes, produce ribosomes and function as cellular stress sensors. Nucleoli are particularly prone to gold nanoparticle-induced injury. As such, small spherical gold nanoparticles and gold nanoflowers interfere with the transcription of ribosomal DNA. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we examined the effects of gold nanoparticles on nucleolar proteins that are critical to ribosome biogenesis and other cellular functions. We show that B23/nucleophosmin, a nucleolar protein that is tightly linked to cancer, is significantly affected by gold nanoparticles. Furthermore, gold nanoparticles impinge on the cellular stress response, as they reduce the abundance of the molecular chaperone hsp70 and O-GlcNAc modified proteins in the nucleus and nucleoli. Together, our studies set the stage for the development of nanomedicines that target the nucleolus to eradicate proliferating cancer cells.
Keywords
Gold Nanoparticles; Gold Nanoflowers; Nucleolus; Stress Response; Heat Shock Protein 70
Hrčak ID:
157698
URI
Publication date:
1.1.2016.
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