Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of SnO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) on proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and oxidative stress of oral cancer. METHODS: SnO(2) NPs were prepared and characterized. Oral cancer cell lines CAL-27 and SCC-9 were cultured in vitro. We detected the effects of various concentrations of SnO(2) NPs (0, 5, 25, 50, 100, 200 μg/mL) on the proliferation of oral cancer cells, and observed the morphological changes, and measured the cells ability of migration, invasion and apoptosis condition, and the levels of oxidative stress were measured by detecting malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Besides, we also measured the changes of mRNA and protein levels of factors related to cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. RESULTS: SnO(2) NPs inhibited the proliferation of oral cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner (all P < 0.05). And SnO(2) NPs treatment could reduce the migration and invasion ability of cells (all P < 0.05), induce apoptosis, and those effects were better when treated for 48 h than 24 h (all P < 0.05). And SnO(2) NPs could induce oxidative stress in cells (all P < 0.05). Besides, the concentrations of cyclin-D1, C-myc, matrix MMP-9, and MMP-2 in SnO(2) NPs treated group was decreased (all P < 0.05), and the expression levels of cleaved Caspase-3, cleaved Caspase-9, and Cytochrome C were increased (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the present study, we found that SnO(2) NPs could play a cytotoxic role in oral cancer cells, and inhibit cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induce oxidative stress and apoptosis, which suggests that SnO(2) NPs may have the effects of anti-oral cancer. However, a more in-depth study is needed to determine its roles.