Mesoporous TiO2 Nanaoparticles Inhibits Malignant Pancreatic Cancer Cells Through STAT Pathway

Nanoparticles are known to have recognition ability for targeted delivery, and are thus widely used in the treatments of diseases. Mesoporous nano-titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles have characteristics of nanomaterials and their porous structure with high surface area strengthens their drug-loading capacity and targeting ability. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mesoporous nano-TiO 2 on pancreatic cancer cells and STAT pathway activity. Initially, we prepared mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticles that were characterized. Pancreatic cancer cells were co-cultured with mesoporous nano-TiO 2 nanoparticles at different concentrations (0.1 μ g/mL, 0.5 μ g/mL, 1 μ g/mL, 5 μ g/mL, and 10 μ g/mL) or 10 μ g/mL nano-TiO 2 (positive control group) or cells cultured alone (blank group). Cell viability was determined at several specific time points (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h). Transwell assay and scratching assay were conducted to determine the number of migrated and invaded cells. STAT3 and JAK2 expressions were examined by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. The prepared mesoporous nano-TiO 2 exhibited sharp diffraction peaks with enhanced intensity and diffraction rings. STAT pathway was activated in pancreas cancer cells, which had more fluorescent cells than normal cells. The presence of mesoporous nano-TiO 2 nanoparticles suppressed cancer cell viability and their inhibition rate increased with increased of nano-TiO 2 concentration. The concentration of 10 μ g/mL exhibited greatest inhibitory effect and 10 μ g/mL mesoporous nano-TiO 2 thus was chosen for experimental group. The width of the scratch in the experimental group (19.97±0.82 mm) was higher than in the blank group and positive control group ( P < 0.05); 10 μ g/mL mesoporous nano-TiO 2 significantly decreased the number of invaded cells (71.97±17.84) and number of cell clones (156.91±31.03) ( P < 0.05). The expression levels of STAT3 (0.41±0.06 μ g/ μ L) and JAK2 (0.39±0.04 ug/ul) were diminished by treatment with mesoporous nano-TiO 2 . Mesoporous nano-TiO 2 inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth and STAT expression, as its inhibitory effect depends on its concentration. These findings might provide a novel insight into nanoparticle-based treatment for pancreatic cancer.