Comparative Study on Nanotoxicity in Human Primary and Cancer Cells

Nanomaterial toxicity tests using normal and cancer cells may yield markedly different results. Here, nanomaterial toxicity between cancer and primary human cells was compared to determine the basic cell line selection criteria for nanomaterial toxicity analyses. Specifically, we exposed two cancer (A549 and HepG2) and two normal cell lines (NHBE and HH) cell lines to SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and evaluated the cytotoxicity (MTS assay), cell death mode, and intracellular NP retention. MTS assay results revealed higher sensitivity of HH cells to SiO2 NPs than HepG2 cells, while no difference was observed between NHBE and A549 cells. In addition, SiO2 NPs primarily induced necrosis in all the cell lines. Moreover, we evaluated NP accumulation by treating the cell lines with fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labeled SiO2 NPs. After 48 h of treatment, less than 10% of A549 and HepG2 cells and more than 30% of NHBE and HH cells contained the labeled NPs. Collectively, our results suggest that cell viability, death mode, and intracellular compound accumulation could be assessed using cancer cells. However, the outcomes of certain investigations, such as intracellular NP retention, may differ between cancer and normal cells.

Automated summary

Toxicity tests using nanomaterials on normal and cancer cells may have different outcomes. This study compared the toxicity of SiO2 nanoparticles on cancer and primary human cells, revealing the importance of cell line selection in nanomaterial toxicity analyses.