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Apoptosis induced by cationic liposome based on the mitochondrial signaling pathway in vitro

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Abstract

Liposomes have been extensively applied in gene and drug delivery. It is indicated in many studies that cationic lipids possess a certain degree of cytotoxicity, primarily induced by the lipid head group. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxic mechanisms of peptide headgroup lipid (CDO14) and quaternary ammonium salt headgroup lipid (CDA14) on the NCI-H460 and MRC-5 cell lines. Both lipids were synthesized in our laboratory and with high transfection efficiency. The differences in changes of relevant proteins during the process of inducing cell apoptosis were compared at the cellular level between the two lipids. The results showed that both types of liposomes could lead to an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species, a decrease in ATP content, a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, an increase in cytochrome c content, an increase in the BAX/BCL-2 ratio, and an increase in cleaved caspase-3 content. Among these changes, the variations in CDA14 were more significant than those in CDO14. Additionally, the cellular uptake of CDA14 was significantly higher than that of CDO14. These results suggested that the cytotoxicity of quaternary ammonium salt-based lipids was higher than that of peptide-based lipids. The cytotoxicity of cationic lipids is related to their head group structure, and their cytotoxic effect is mainly achieved by activating caspase-dependent endogenous apoptosis.

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Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 21606041/21776044).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioresources Utilization, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China

    Sang Du, Yueying Wang, Yinan Zhao, Defu Zhi, Shaohui Cui & Shubiao Zhang

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Min Li

  3. Molecular Imaging Precision Medical Collaborative Innovation Center, Medical Imaging Department, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Min Li

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  1. Sang Du
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  2. Yueying Wang
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  5. Defu Zhi
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  6. Shaohui Cui
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Contributions

Cui and Zhang conceived the presented idea and developed the theory, conducted the research. Du and Cui written the manuscript. Wang and Du did the main experiment. Li and Zhao and Zhi provided technical support. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shaohui Cui or Shubiao Zhang.

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Du, S., Wang, Y., Li, M. et al. Apoptosis induced by cationic liposome based on the mitochondrial signaling pathway in vitro. J Mater Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-10192-8

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