Mechanisms of Antitumor Effect of Nanomaterials Based on Rare Earth Orthovanadates

Abstract

In experimental conditions in vivo the possibility of using GdYEuVO4 nanoparticles and hybrid nanocomplexes synthesized on their basis for the identification of cancer cells and inhibition of tumor growth is substantiated that allows to attribute these nanomaterials to promising drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of malignancies. The dependence of an antitumor effect of nanomaterials on the time of their pre-incubation with tumor cells was established. Treatment of EC cells in vitro with hybrid nanocomplexes within 3 hours resulted in a minimal EC intensity growth in vivo (33.16 ± 4.67%). Implementation of an antitumor effect of nanomaterials involves their penetration, accumulation inside tumor cells, damage to mitochondrial function with subsequent induction of apoptotic and necrotic changes. The established fact of the death of EC cells mainly by necrosis under the action of hybrid NCs is one of the conditions for further inactivation of a tumor. Double staining of EC cells with monoclonal antibodies to CD44, together with hybrid NCs, allowed them to establish their selective accumulation capacity in CD44+ EC cells with ultra-high fluorescence intensity of this marker (CD44 cells). This confirms that a successful implementation of anti-proliferative properties of hybrid NCs is accomplished by inhibiting the function of tumor cells with a stem potential.