Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 23;32(11):133.
doi: 10.1007/s10856-021-06606-7.

Assessment of tantalum nanoparticle-induced MC3T3-E1 proliferation and underlying mechanisms

Chengrong Kang #  1 , Yudong Wang #  1 , Liang Li  1 , Zhangwei Li  1 , Qianbing Zhou  1 , Xuan Pan  2
Affiliations

Assessment of tantalum nanoparticle-induced MC3T3-E1 proliferation and underlying mechanisms

Chengrong Kang et al. J Mater Sci Mater Med. .

Abstract

Objective: In our previous study, tantalum nanoparticle (Ta-NPs) was demonstrated to promote osteoblast proliferation via autophagy induction, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we will explore the potential mechanism.

Methods: Ta-NPs was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and BET specific surface area test. MC3T3-E1 were treated with 0 or 20 μg/mL Ta-NPs with or without pretreatment with 10 μM LY294002, Triciribine, Rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors) for 1 h respectively. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of pathway proteins and LC3B. CCK-8 assay was used to assess cell viability. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis and cell cycle.

Results: After pretreatment with LY294002, Triciribine and Rapamycin, the p-Akt/Akt ratio of pathway protein in Triciribine and Rapamycin groups decreased (P < 0.05), while the autophagy protein LC3-II/LC3-I in the Rapamycin group was upregulated obviously (P < 0.001). In all pretreated groups, apoptosis was increased (LY294002 group was the most obvious), G1 phase cell cycle was arrested (Triciribine and Rapamycin groups were more obvious), and MC3T3-E1 cells were proliferated much more (P < 0.01, P < 0.001, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Pretreatment with Triciribine or Rapamycin has a greater effect on pathway protein Akt, cell cycle arrest, autophagy protein, and cell proliferation but with inconsistent magnitude, which may be inferred that the Akt/mTOR pathway, as well as its feedback loop, were more likely involved in these processes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Characterization of Ta-NPs. TEM (A) and SEM (B) images showed primarily spherical shapes. Magnification: ×200,000. C DLS measurement
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Expression of pathway proteins and autophagy protein (A) and quantified in column diagram (B). MC3T3-E1 was pretreated with or without 10 μM of LY, API, or Rapa respectively for 1 h followed with 20 μg/mL Ta-NPs treatment for another 24 h. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 vs. Ta-NPs alone treated group
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Cell viability. MC3T3-E1 was pretreated with or without 10 μM of LY, API, or Rapa respectively for 1 h followed with 20 μg/mL Ta-NPs treatment for another 24 h. At least 5 wells per condition were examined in 3 independently replicated experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus control group; #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01, ###P < 0.001 vs. Ta-NPs alone treated group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Cell apoptosis. MC3T3-E1 was pretreated with or without 10 μM of LY, API, or Rapa respectively for 1 h followed with 20 μg/mL Ta-NPs treatment for an additional 24 h
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Cell cycle in coordinate diagram (A) and quantified in colume diagram (B). MC3T3-E1 was pretreated with or without 10 μM of LY, API, or Rapa respectively for 1 h followed with 20 μg/mL Ta-NPs treatment for an additional 24 h
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Schematic diagram of the Ta-NPs induced effects on MC3T3-E1. Note: Ta-NPs are endocytosed and activated the mTOR signaling pathway to induce apoptosis, regulate autophagy, cell cycle, and cell proliferation. Ta-NPs Tantalum nanoparticles
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Wang F, Wang L, Feng Y, Yang X, Ma Z, Shi L, et al. Evaluation of an artificial vertebral body fabricated by a tantalum-coated porous titanium scaffold for lumbar vertebral defect repair in rabbits. Sci Rep. 2018;8:8927. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-27182-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang L, Hu X, Ma X, Ma Z, Zhang Y, Lu Y, et al. Promotion of osteointegration under diabetic conditions by tantalum coating-based surface modification on 3-dimensional printed porous titanium implants. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2016;148:440–52. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2016.09.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lu RJ, Wang X, He HX, E LL, Li Y, Zhang GL, et al. Tantalum-incorporated hydroxyapatite coating on titanium implants: its mechanical and in vitro osteogenic properties. J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2019;30:111. doi: 10.1007/s10856-019-6308-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang Q, Qiao Y, Cheng M, Jiang G, He G, Chen Y, et al. Tantalum implanted entangled porous titanium promotes surface osseointegration and bone ingrowth. Sci Rep. 2016;6:26248. doi: 10.1038/srep26248. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ding D, Xie Y, Li K, Huang L, Zheng X. Micro/Nano structural tantalum coating for enhanced osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stem cells. Materials (Basel). 2018;11. 10.3390/ma11040546. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources