Ferulic Acid-Loaded Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks-8 Nanoparticles (ZIF-8) Exhibited Anticancer Activity by the Increase of Apoptotic Proteins in Ishikawa and HEC1B cells

The objective of our study was to investigate the apoptotic effect of ferulic acid (FA) on endometrial cancer (EC) cells through the application and analysis of a nanoparticle known as Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks-8 (ZIF-8). FA molecules were coated with ZIF-8 (FA-ZIF-8) and subjected to analysis using several techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-visible spectroscopy and elemental mapping analysis, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). XTT kit, quantitative real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, TUNEL, wound healing assay and colonization test was used to determine the apoptotic effects of FA-ZIF-8 on Ishikawa and HEC1B Cells. SEM showed that the particles were hexagonal with an average diameter of 250 nm, SERS mapping showed that the particles were distributed in the middle and on the sides, FT-IR spectrum showed the presence of main functional groups and UV spectrum showed maximum absorbance at 215 nm. IC50 dose of FA-ZIF-8 for ishikawa cell was 300,03 μg/mL at 72 h, and for HEC1B cell was 467,56 μg/mL at 72 h. Caspase-3 and Bax/Bcl-2 gene ratios (2.03 fold in Ishikawa, and 3.53 fold in HEC1B) and apoptotic index (AI) increased (p<0.05), cell proliferation and migration decreased in FA-ZIF-8 groups. This study showed that ZIF-8 nanoparticles encapsulating FA could be a therapeutically effective treatment for the EC cells. We have applied ferulic acid, which is frequently used in cancer treatment research in recent years, to endometrial cancer by coating it with ZIF-8. Our study showed FA-ZIF-8 can be anticancer effective at low doses. FA-ZIF-8 treatment induced apoptosis in ishikawa and HEC1B cells and decreased proliferation, migration and colonization.