Inhibitory Effects of Platinum Nanoparticles Coated with Polyethylene Glycol and Conjugated with Rutin on the MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line

The objective of this work is to characterize the anticancer mechanism of platinum nanoparticles coated with polyethylene glycol and conjugated with Rutin (Rutin-PEG-PtNPs) in a breast cancer cell line. PtNPs were synthesized using Dendrobium officinale extract, coated with PEG, conjugated with Rutin, and characterized by the FT-IR, XRD, DLS, and TEM. The viability of the breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and normal breast cells (MCF-10A) after treatment with PEG-PtNPs and Rutin-PEG-PtNPs was studied by the MTT assay. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, MDA level, and LDH leakage in the PEG-PtNPs and Rutin-PEG-PtNPs were measured. The expression of the p53, Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase −8, and −9 genes, as well as the NF-κB and IL-6 levels in the Rutin-PEG-PtNPs treated cells, were investigated by qPCR and ELISA assays. Results demonstrated that the NPs were in a size range of 30 to 60 nm. The Rutin-PEG-PtNPs showed greater cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells (IC50: 45.5 µg/mL) than normal breast cells (IC50: 69.4 µg/mL). The expression of the p53, Bax, caspase-8, and −9 was upregulated by 1.96, 1.84, 1.31, and 2.79 folds, while the expression of the Bcl-2 was reduced in Rutin-PEG-PtNP-treated cells. The activity of the SOD and CAT decreased, while the LDH leakage and MDA levels increased after treating the cells with Rutin-PEG-PtNPs. Also, the NF-κB and IL-6 levels in the cell cultures treated with Rutin-PEG-PtNPs were reduced by 22.6 and 17.0 %, respectively. Rutin-PEG-Pt indicated promising inhibitory potential against MCF-7 cells.