Cytotoxic Effects of ZnO Nanoparticles on the Expression of ROS-Responsive Genes in the Human Cell Lines

In the present investigation, engineered ZnO nanoparticles were tested for their induced oxidative stress in T47D tumor cell lines. The expressions of reactive oxygen species (ROS) related genes, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and catalase were quantified by real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In addition, qualitative analysis of GST was also performed at the cell level using molecular beacon (MB) technology. The tested nanoparticles were 20 nm in size, water-dispersible and treated on human breast tumor epithelial cell lines at 20, 40, 80 mu g/ml concentration with 14, 28, 48 h incubation times. Nanoparticles induced expressions of ROS responsive genes at molecular and cellular level, produces consistent results with respect to different dosage and incubation time. The experiment showed that the expression of both GST and catalase genes were maximized at 28 h with 80 mu g/ml concentration. However, the toxic effect of the monodisperse ZnO nanoparticles was not significant compared with control experiments, demonstrating its high potential in the applications of nanomedicines for a diagnostic and therapeutic tool.