Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress

Quantum dots have diverse biomedical applications, from constructing biological infrastructures like medical imaging to advancing pharmaceutical research. However, concerns about human health arise due to the toxic potential of quantum dots based on heavy metals. Therefore, research on quantum dots...

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Main Authors: Hyun Hee Song, Hyunwoo Choi, Seonghan Kim, Hwan Gyu Kim, Sangmin An, Sejung Kim, Hoon Jang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Animal Cells and Systems
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19768354.2024.2409452
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author Hyun Hee Song
Hyunwoo Choi
Seonghan Kim
Hwan Gyu Kim
Sangmin An
Sejung Kim
Hoon Jang
author_facet Hyun Hee Song
Hyunwoo Choi
Seonghan Kim
Hwan Gyu Kim
Sangmin An
Sejung Kim
Hoon Jang
author_sort Hyun Hee Song
collection DOAJ
description Quantum dots have diverse biomedical applications, from constructing biological infrastructures like medical imaging to advancing pharmaceutical research. However, concerns about human health arise due to the toxic potential of quantum dots based on heavy metals. Therefore, research on quantum dots has predominantly focused on oxidative stress, cell death, and other broader bodily toxicities. This study investigated the toxicity and cellular responses of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and mouse adult stem cells (mASCs) to nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) made of non-metallic materials. Cells were exposed to NCQDs, and we utilized a fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell system to verify whether NCQDs induce cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we validated the differentiation-inducing impact of NCQDs by utilizing embryonic stem cells equipped with the Oct4 enhancer-GFP reporter system. By analyzing gene expression including Crebzf, Chop, and ATF6, we also observed that NCQDs robustly elicited endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. We confirmed that NCQDs induced cytotoxicity and abnormal differentiation. Interestingly, we also confirmed that low concentrations of NCQDs stimulated cell proliferation in both mESCs and mASCs. In conclusion, NCQDs modulate cell death, proliferation, and differentiation in a concentration-dependent manner. Indiscriminate biological applications of NCQDs have the potential to cause cancer development by affecting normal cell division or to fail to induce normal differentiation by affecting embryonic development during pregnancy. Therefore, we propose that future biomedical applications of NCQDs necessitate comprehensive and diverse biological studies.
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spelling doaj-art-85e6bcf702b940b5bd55b0d50418dc252025-08-20T02:09:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnimal Cells and Systems1976-83542151-24852024-12-0128148149410.1080/19768354.2024.2409452Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stressHyun Hee Song0Hyunwoo Choi1Seonghan Kim2Hwan Gyu Kim3Sangmin An4Sejung Kim5Hoon Jang6Department of Life Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Animal Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Clean Energy Research Center, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Life Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaSchool of Chemical Engineering, Clean Energy Research Center, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Life Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of KoreaQuantum dots have diverse biomedical applications, from constructing biological infrastructures like medical imaging to advancing pharmaceutical research. However, concerns about human health arise due to the toxic potential of quantum dots based on heavy metals. Therefore, research on quantum dots has predominantly focused on oxidative stress, cell death, and other broader bodily toxicities. This study investigated the toxicity and cellular responses of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and mouse adult stem cells (mASCs) to nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) made of non-metallic materials. Cells were exposed to NCQDs, and we utilized a fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell system to verify whether NCQDs induce cytotoxicity. Furthermore, we validated the differentiation-inducing impact of NCQDs by utilizing embryonic stem cells equipped with the Oct4 enhancer-GFP reporter system. By analyzing gene expression including Crebzf, Chop, and ATF6, we also observed that NCQDs robustly elicited endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. We confirmed that NCQDs induced cytotoxicity and abnormal differentiation. Interestingly, we also confirmed that low concentrations of NCQDs stimulated cell proliferation in both mESCs and mASCs. In conclusion, NCQDs modulate cell death, proliferation, and differentiation in a concentration-dependent manner. Indiscriminate biological applications of NCQDs have the potential to cause cancer development by affecting normal cell division or to fail to induce normal differentiation by affecting embryonic development during pregnancy. Therefore, we propose that future biomedical applications of NCQDs necessitate comprehensive and diverse biological studies.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19768354.2024.2409452Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dotER stresscell proliferationdifferentiation
spellingShingle Hyun Hee Song
Hyunwoo Choi
Seonghan Kim
Hwan Gyu Kim
Sangmin An
Sejung Kim
Hoon Jang
Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
Animal Cells and Systems
Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot
ER stress
cell proliferation
differentiation
title Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
title_full Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
title_fullStr Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
title_full_unstemmed Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
title_short Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
title_sort nitrogen doped carbon quantum dot regulates cell proliferation and differentiation by endoplasmic reticulum stress
topic Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dot
ER stress
cell proliferation
differentiation
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19768354.2024.2409452
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