Gold nanoparticle resveratrol complex increases apoptosis in KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer cells

The KRAS G12D mutation is the most prevalent type of pancreatic cancer and is found in about 35% of patients. Numerous natural chemicals are frequently investigated in cancer treatment to decrease side effects. Resveratrol (RVT) is a polyphenol that can promote cancer cell apoptosis and improve chemotherapy efficacy in cancers. To enhance delivery rate and efficacy, the size of about 30 nm gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was synthesized and conjugated to resveratrol via polyvinylpyrrolidone (GRs) for high bioavailability. Compared to RVT and GNPs, GRs had less inflammatory response and less toxicity on RAW 264.7 cells. This suggests that the toxicity of resveratrol can be alleviated by conjugation with gold nanoparticles. The viability of the human pancreatic cancer cell line (AsPC-1) decreased in sequence of GRs > RVT > GNPs, suggesting an enhanced anticancer effect of the GRs compared to resveratrol (RVT) alone. In addition, the extent of apoptosis was much bigger with GRs compared to RVT and GNPs. The apoptotic effects were confirmed with cell cycle arrest and expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins. Thus, GRs had a better extent of anticancer effect than RVT, suggesting that GRs be considered as one of the prospective anti-cancer drugs for pancreatic cancer treatment.