Anticancer potential of green-synthesized gold nanoparticles via modulation of p53 and p21 pathways

The incidence and mortality of cancer have increased worldwide. The limitations of available anticancer agents in reducing mortality have encouraged researchers to develop an alternative therapy. Recently, green - synthesized nanoparticles have emerged as promising potential alternative therapeutic strategies. This study focused on the anticancer activities of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) against two types of cancer cells: human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and human prostate cancer (PC3), with a particular focus on the expression of the tumor suppressor genes p53 and p21. Green synthesis of AuNPs from Ziziphus spina-christi (Z. spina-christi) is carried out, followed by morphological and physical characterization. Their anticancer activity against the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and human prostate cancer (PC3) is evaluated, along with their effect on the expression of tumor suppressor genes p53 and p21. The prepared AuNPs showed significant anticancer and cytotoxic activities against both cancer cell lines. The sensitivity of the PC3 cell line is higher than that of the MDA-MB-231 cell line when the percentages of viability are 48.74%, 33.47%, and 23.15% at 200, 400, and 800 µg/ ml, respectively. 5.43- and 6.41-fold increases in the expression of the p53 and p21 genes, respectively, are observed in the PC3 cell line when treated with AuNPs, compared to untreated cells.