Effect of Fe(3)O(4) Nanoparticles on Skin Tumor Cells and Dermal Fibroblasts

Iron oxide (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles have been used in many biomedical approaches. The toxicity of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles on mammalian cells was published recently. Though, little is known about the viability of human cells after treatment with Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles. Herein, we examined the toxicity, production of reactive oxygen species, and invasive capacity after treatment of human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and cells of the squamous tumor cell line (SCL-1) with Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles. These nanoparticles had an average size of 65 nm. Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles induced oxidative stress via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent initiation of lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, the question was addressed of whether Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles affect myofibroblast formation, known to be involved in tumor invasion. Herein, Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles prevent the expression alpha-smooth muscle actin and therefore decrease the number of myofibroblastic cells. Moreover, our data show in vitro that concentrations of Fe(3)O(4 ) nanoparticles, which are nontoxic for normal cells, partially reveal a ROS-triggered cytotoxic but also a pro-invasive effect on the fraction of squamous cancer cells surviving the treatment with Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles. The data herein show that the Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles appear not to be adequate for use in therapeutic approaches against cancer cells, in contrast to recently published data with cerium oxide nanoparticles.