The Effects of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Vitality and Ultrastructure of Yac-1 Lymphoma Cell Line

Objective: Nanoparticles, which are widely used, are known to be effective in cancer therapy. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NP) on the YAC-1 lymphoma cell line. Materials and Methods: TiO2-NP were applied at two different concentrations (0.1mg/mL, 0.5mg/ mL) on cultured YAC-1 lymphoma cells in 24 well plates. After 24 and 48 hours of treatment the cells were collected and counted for viability test and the quantitative difference was determined by the Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test. Cells were embedded in Epon-812 after routine process for the electron microscope examination. Thin sections of the cells were examined with Jem Jeol transmission electron microscope. Results: The proliferation index of YAC-1 cells showed a statistically significant decrease with the dose and time dependent of TiO2-NP treatment. Mitochondrial degeneration, autophagic vacuole accumulation and both necrotic and apoptotic cell morphologies were observed in both TiO2-NP treatment groups via electron microscopic evaluation. Conclusion: Several studies have shown that TiO2-NPs trigger cell death on different cancer cell lines. In our study, we observed autophagic vacuole filled with NPs, organelle degeneration, and morphological changes showing apoptotic and necrotic cell death in groups exposed to nanoparticles. In addition significant decrease of proliferation index were detected with dose- and time-dependent. We are constantly interacting with TiO2-NP in our daily day life. The mechanisms of these cytotoxic effects of TiO2-NP should be elucidated by further studies