Combination of magnetic hyperthermia and gene therapy for breast cancer

Solak K., Arslan S. Y., Acar M., Turhan F., Ünver Y., Mavi A.

APOPTOSIS, cilt.30, sa.1-2, ss.99-116, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 30 Sayı: 1-2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10495-024-02026-4
  • Dergi Adı: APOPTOSIS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.99-116
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Apoptosis, Breast cancer, Ferroptosis, Gene therapy, Magnetic hyperthermia
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study presented a novel breast cancer therapy model that uses magnetic field-controlled heating to trigger gene expression in cancer cells. We created silica- and amine-modified superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MSNP-NH2) to carry genes and release heat under an alternating current (AC) magnetic field. The heat-inducible expression plasmid (pHSP-Azu) was designed to encode anti-cancer azurin and was delivered by magnetofection. MCF-7 cells demonstrated over 93% cell viability and 12% transfection efficiency when exposed to 75 mu g/ml of MSNP-NH2, 3 mu g of DNA, and PEI at a 0.75 PEI/DNA ratio (w: w), unlike non-tumorigenic cells (MCF-10 A). Magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) increased azurin expression by heat induction, leading to cell death in dual ways. The combination of MHT and heat-regulated azurin expression induced cell death, specifically in cancer cells, while having negligible effects on MCF-10 A cells. The proposed strategy clearly shows that simultaneous use of MHT and MHT-induced azurin gene expression may selectively target and kill cancer cells, offering a promising direction for cancer therapy.