Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects

Radiotherapy is a non-invasive method that is widely applied to treat and alleviate cancers. However, radiation-induced effects in the immune system are associated with several side effects via an increase in oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. Therefore, it is imperative to develop effe...

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Main Authors: Shigao Huang, Min Xu, Qingyue Da, Linlin Jing, Haibo Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Cancers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/2/351
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author Shigao Huang
Min Xu
Qingyue Da
Linlin Jing
Haibo Wang
author_facet Shigao Huang
Min Xu
Qingyue Da
Linlin Jing
Haibo Wang
author_sort Shigao Huang
collection DOAJ
description Radiotherapy is a non-invasive method that is widely applied to treat and alleviate cancers. However, radiation-induced effects in the immune system are associated with several side effects via an increase in oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. Therefore, it is imperative to develop effective clinical radiological protection strategies for the radiological protection of the normal organs and immune system in these patients. To explore more effective radioprotective agents with minimal toxicity, a mitochondria-targeted nitronyl nitroxide radical with a triphenylphosphine ion (TPP-NIT) was synthesized and its nanoparticles (NPs-TPP-NIT) were prepared and characterized. The TPP-NIT nanoparticles (NPs-TPP-NIT) were narrow in their size distribution and uniformly distributed; they showed good drug encapsulation efficiency and a low hemolysis rate (<3%). The protective effect of NPs-TPP-NIT against X-ray irradiation-induced oxidative damage was measured in vitro and in vivo. The results show that NPs-TPP-NIT were associated with no obvious cytotoxicity to L-02 cells when the concentration was below 1.5 × 10<sup>−2</sup> mmol. NPs-TPP-NIT enhanced the survival rate of L-02 cells significantly under 2, 4, 6, and 8 Gy X-ray radiation exposure; the survival rate of mice was highest after 6 Gy X-ray irradiation. The results also show that NPs-TPP-NIT could increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA) levels after the L-02 cells were exposed to 6.0 Gy of X-ray radiation. Moreover, NPs-TPP-NIT could significantly inhibit cell apoptosis. NPs-TPP-NIT significantly increased the mouse survival rate after irradiation. NPs-TPP-NIT displayed a marked ability to reduce the irradiation-induced depletion of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets (PLTs). These results demonstrate the feasibility of using NPs-TPP-NIT to provide protection from radiation-induced damage. In conclusion, this study revealed that NPs-TPP-NIT may be promising radioprotectors and could therefore be applied to protect healthy tissues and organs from radiation during the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy.
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spelling doaj.art-fb2fb44b0e67470681fd3d86fdefe0b82024-01-26T15:36:18ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942024-01-0116235110.3390/cancers16020351Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant EffectsShigao Huang0Min Xu1Qingyue Da2Linlin Jing3Haibo Wang4Department of Cell Biology, National Translational Science Center for Molecular Medicine, The Air Force Medical University, Xi’an 710032, ChinaDepartment of Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, The Air Force Medical University, Xi’an 710032, ChinaCentre for Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, ChinaCentre for Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, ChinaDepartment of Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, The Air Force Medical University, Xi’an 710032, ChinaRadiotherapy is a non-invasive method that is widely applied to treat and alleviate cancers. However, radiation-induced effects in the immune system are associated with several side effects via an increase in oxidative stress and the inflammatory response. Therefore, it is imperative to develop effective clinical radiological protection strategies for the radiological protection of the normal organs and immune system in these patients. To explore more effective radioprotective agents with minimal toxicity, a mitochondria-targeted nitronyl nitroxide radical with a triphenylphosphine ion (TPP-NIT) was synthesized and its nanoparticles (NPs-TPP-NIT) were prepared and characterized. The TPP-NIT nanoparticles (NPs-TPP-NIT) were narrow in their size distribution and uniformly distributed; they showed good drug encapsulation efficiency and a low hemolysis rate (<3%). The protective effect of NPs-TPP-NIT against X-ray irradiation-induced oxidative damage was measured in vitro and in vivo. The results show that NPs-TPP-NIT were associated with no obvious cytotoxicity to L-02 cells when the concentration was below 1.5 × 10<sup>−2</sup> mmol. NPs-TPP-NIT enhanced the survival rate of L-02 cells significantly under 2, 4, 6, and 8 Gy X-ray radiation exposure; the survival rate of mice was highest after 6 Gy X-ray irradiation. The results also show that NPs-TPP-NIT could increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA) levels after the L-02 cells were exposed to 6.0 Gy of X-ray radiation. Moreover, NPs-TPP-NIT could significantly inhibit cell apoptosis. NPs-TPP-NIT significantly increased the mouse survival rate after irradiation. NPs-TPP-NIT displayed a marked ability to reduce the irradiation-induced depletion of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets (PLTs). These results demonstrate the feasibility of using NPs-TPP-NIT to provide protection from radiation-induced damage. In conclusion, this study revealed that NPs-TPP-NIT may be promising radioprotectors and could therefore be applied to protect healthy tissues and organs from radiation during the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/2/351ionizing radiationnitronyl nitroxide radicalradioprotective effectmitochondria-targetedtumor radiotherapy
spellingShingle Shigao Huang
Min Xu
Qingyue Da
Linlin Jing
Haibo Wang
Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
Cancers
ionizing radiation
nitronyl nitroxide radical
radioprotective effect
mitochondria-targeted
tumor radiotherapy
title Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
title_full Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
title_fullStr Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
title_full_unstemmed Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
title_short Mitochondria-Targeted Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Nanoparticles for Protection against Radiation-Induced Damage with Antioxidant Effects
title_sort mitochondria targeted nitronyl nitroxide radical nanoparticles for protection against radiation induced damage with antioxidant effects
topic ionizing radiation
nitronyl nitroxide radical
radioprotective effect
mitochondria-targeted
tumor radiotherapy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/2/351
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