Comparison of cellular responses across multiple passage numbers in Ba/F3-BCR-ABL cells induced by silver...

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and increasingly broad bio-application of engineered nanomaterials, their biohazards have become a serious public concern. It is believed that the chemical nature, particle size, morphology, and surface chemistry of nanomaterials are key parameters that influence their toxicity. Although cultured cells have been widely used to evaluate nanomaterial toxicity, it remains unclear whether the passage of these cells affects the evaluation results. In the present study, Ba/F3 cells transfected with the BCR-ABL gene were subcultured to study the effect of passage number on cell stability and their cellular responses upon exposure to nanomaterials. The results demonstrated that proliferation, cellular senescence, BCR-ABL gene expression, cell cycle and apoptosis were stable across multiple passages. Senescence and BCR-ABL gene expression of cells from different passage cells were unchanged when treated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). In addition, the cells at multiple passage numbers were all arrested in the G(2)/M phase and apoptosis was induced by the AgNPs. These nanoparticles could enter cells via endocytosis and localize in the endosomes, which were also not influenced by passage number. These data suggest that short-term passage would not affect cultured cell stability and toxicity assessment using these cells would be consistent when maintained appropriately.