Cerium nanoparticles will protect healthy cells during radiation therapy

Scientists from the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushchino) and N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov National Research State University have synthesized nanoparticles based on cerium oxide, a biocompatible compound capable of engaging in a large number of redox reactions.

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Cerium oxide can protect healthy cells from damage during radiation therapy, while enhancing DNA damage in cancer cells. The authors decided to increase the selectivity of cerium oxide by attaching to it pyrroloquinolinquinone - a bioactive molecule that has a high antioxidant effect and is involved in the regulation of mitochondria.

X-rays were found to reduce the viability of fibroblasts by 75% and cancer cells by 32%. However, after treatment with nanoparticles and irradiation, the survival rate of healthy fibroblasts increased by 45% compared to control cells, which did not experience any effects, but also died in small numbers due to natural causes. In the case of tumor cells, the survival rate was 31-37% lower than in the control group - this is comparable to the results obtained with irradiation alone without nanoparticles. Thus, the nanoparticles did not practically reduce the survival rate of normal cells, but significantly lowered it in cancer cells.

"The observed effect is due to the fact that cerium oxide nanoparticles modified with pyrroloquinolinequinone reduce the level of reactive oxygen species in fibroblasts and thus save them from oxidation. Because of this, they can be used to keep healthy cells from being killed by radiation therapy for cancer. In the future, we plan to conduct experiments on other types of healthy and cancer cells to better understand how nanoparticles work in each case", - said the project leader, Ph.D. in biology, leading researcher, head of the laboratory of isotope studies ITEB RAS Nelly Popova.

Read more in the exclusive material "Izvestia":

Cerium halves: nanoparticles will protect cells from death during radiation therapy