title: Effects of PAMAM dendrimers with various surface functional groups and multiple generations on cytotoxicity and neuronal differentiation using human neural progenitor cells.
abstract: Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have potential for biological applications as delivery systems for genes, drugs, and imaging agents into the brain, but their developmental neurotoxicity remains unknown. We investigated the effects of PAMAM dendrimers with various surface functional groups and multiple generations on neuronal differentiation using human neural progenitor cells at an equal mass concentration. Only PAMAM dendrimers containing amine (NH2) surface groups at concentrations of 10 μg/mL significantly reduced cell viability and neuronal differentiation, compared with non-amine-terminated dendrimers. PAMAM-NH2 with generation (G)3, G4, G5 G6, and G7 significantly decreased cell viability and inhibited neuronal differentiation from a concentration of 5 μg/mL, but G0, G1, and G2 dendrimers did not have any effect at this concentration. Cytotoxicity indices of PAMAM-NH2 dendrimers at 10 μg/mL correlated well with the zeta potentials of the particles. Surface group density and particle number in unit volume is more important characteristic than particle size to influence cytotoxicity for positive changed dendrimers. PAMAM-50% C12 at 1 μg/mL altered the expression level of the oxidative stress-related genes, ROR1, CYP26A1, and TGFB1, which is a DNA damage response gene. Our results indicate that PAMAM dendrimer exposure may have a surface charge-dependent adverse effect on neuronal differentiation, and that the effect may be associated with oxidative stress and DNA damage during development of neural cells.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yoshika
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Tin-Tin
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Win-Shwe
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Seishiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Zhenya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sone
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004249:DNA Damage; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D057050:Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-like Orphan Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000072516:Retinoic Acid 4-Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; C104700:PAMAM Starburst; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; C000607078:CYP26A1 protein, human; D000072516:Retinoic Acid 4-Hydroxylase; C078716:ROR1 protein, human; D057050:Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-like Orphan Receptors