The effect of tamoxifen nanocapsules on the expression of Bax and Bak genes in MCF-7 cell line

Drug nanocarriers have been used extensively in cancer therapy due to their features like the ability to targeting drug transmission, increasing drug solubility, and reducing the drug cytotoxic effects on healthy tissues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Tamoxifen nanocapsules on the expression of Bax and Bak genes in MCF-7 cell lines.

In this study, the nanocapsule structure was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and the effects of Tamoxifen nanocapsules on cell bioactivity were evaluated by MTT assay at concentrations of 10, 50, 100, and 200 µg/mL after 48 hours. Real-time PCR was used to analyze the expression of Bax and Bak genes and data were analyzed using SPSS (23.0) software.

According to the MTT assay, higher concentrations of Tamoxifen nanocapsules decreased cell bioactivity in a dose-dependent manner and the highest toxicity of nanocapsules was at the concentration of 200 µg/mL. The expression level of Bax and Bak genes in MCF-7 treated cells after 48 hours indicated the induction of apoptosis in cells. The results revealed a 1.8-fold increase in cytotoxicity of Tamoxifen nanocapsules compared to free Tamoxifen.

The apoptosis induction as a result of increased expression of Bax and Bak genes and enhanced cytotoxicity, makes Tamoxifen nanocapsules a promising treatment for breast cancer therapy compared to free Tamoxifen.