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. 2023 Apr;52(4):848-856.
doi: 10.18502/ijph.v52i4.12458.

Transcriptional Regulation of the Colorectal Cancer Stem Cell Markers, Nanog and Oct4, Induced by a Thermodynamic-Based Therapy Approach

Zakieh Ghorbani  1   2 , Mansour Heidari  3 , Mojtaba Jafarinia  1   2 , Mahdi Rohani  4 , Abolfazl Akbari  5
Affiliations

Transcriptional Regulation of the Colorectal Cancer Stem Cell Markers, Nanog and Oct4, Induced by a Thermodynamic-Based Therapy Approach

Zakieh Ghorbani et al. Iran J Public Health. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSC), as responsible issues to cancer development and progression, play a crucial role in tumorigenesis, recurrence, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Both hyperthermia and photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be effective for cancer treatment, particularly when combined with other therapeutic approaches. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of hyperthermia combined with PDT on colorectal CSC and the gene expression of the CSC markers, presenting a more effective approach for cancer therapy.

Methods: The study was conducted in the Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran in 2018. We evaluated the anticancer role of hyperthermia, Gold nanoparticles coated with curcumin (Cur-GNPs) in PDT and combination of the two approaches on cell viability and the expression of CSC markers, Nanog and Oct4 in colorectal cancer cell line HT-29. The cytotoxicity effect of Cur-GNPs against the cells was assessed in vitro. The cell viability was assessed using MTT assay, and the expression analysis of the CSC genes was evaluated using a q-real-time PCR.

Results: Cell viability was decreased by PDT (P=0.015) and the combination therapy (P=0.006) but not by hyperthermia alone (P=0.4), compared to control. Also, the expression of CSC markers, Nanog and Oct4 was shown to significantly down-regulate in all hyperthermia, PDT and combination groups.

Conclusion: Hyperthermia combined with PDT was indicated to be more efficient in eliminating tumors than hyperthermia or PDT alone.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer stem cell; Hyperthermia; Nanog; Photodynamic therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest Authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1:
a) Cell viability after treatment with hyperthermia. b) Effect of hyperthermia on expression of Nanog and Oct4 measured by qPCR in HT-29 cell line. *P<0.05
Fig. 2:
Fig. 2:
a) Cell viability after treatment with PDT. b) Relative gene expression of Nanog and Oct4 induced by PDT with various concentrations of Cur-GNPs. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001
Fig. 3:
Fig. 3:
a) Cell viability after treatment with a combination of PDT and hyperthermia b) Relative effect of PDT and hyperthermia combination therapy on gene expression of Nanog and Oct4. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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