The Implications of Nanomedicine in Cancer Therapy: Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects of Selenium Nanoparticles on Human Leukemia Cell Lines

Moawad, Mahmoud; Altrawy, Afaf; Ismail, Sameh H.; Abuelela, Soha; Abd El Aa, Wael L S.; Abdel Rahman, Abdel Rahman A.; Nasr, Ghada M.

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.367786.11443

The Implications of Nanomedicine in Cancer Therapy: Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects of Selenium Nanoparticles on Human Leukemia Cell Lines

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ National Cancer Institute, Department of Pathology, Cairo University, Egypt

² Medical biotechnology, college of biotechnology , MUST

³ Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for nanotechnology, Cairo university.

⁴ Clinical pathology department, faculty of medicine ASU

⁵ Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Genetic Engineering, and Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Sadat City, Egypt.

⁶ Genetic Engineering, and Biotechnology Research Institute, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, University of Sadat City, Egypt.

10.21608/ejchem.2025.367786.11443

Abstract

Background and objective: Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have been observed to exhibit a pleiotropic action, whereby they induce apoptosis in tumor cells while simultaneously protecting healthy tissue cells against stress-induced cell death. The cells underwent a 24-hour treatment with SeNPs. This work objective was to the cytotoxic impacts of a specific selenium nanoparticle examination as a possible nanomedicine anticancer agent in inducing apoptosis in human leukemia cell lines.
Methodology: The MTT test was utilized to conduct the assessment of cytotoxicity and cell viability. To gain insight into the molecular processes of apoptotic genes, namely Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase3, their levels of expression were assessed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results: The IC50 values of selenium nanoparticles on HL-60, K-562, and HS-5 cell lines were determined to be 3.01 ± 0.29, 2.59 ± 0.33, and 439.4 ± 15.8 μg/mL, respectively. The assessment of gene expression levels demonstrated a significant reduction in the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene, accompanied by an elevation in the pro-apoptotic Bax and caspase3 mRNA gene expressions.
Conclusion: This study presented preliminary findings about the notable antitumor efficacy of Selenium Nanoparticles against human leukemia cell lines.

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