Overview Statistic: PDF-Downloads (blue) and Frontdoor-Views (gray)

The toxicity, uptake, and impact on galectin-3 mediated apoptosis of lactose functionalized PAMAM dendrimers

  • Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers functionalized with ligands that are designed to interact with biological receptors are important macromolecules for the elucidation and mediation of biological recognition processes. Specifically, carbohydrate functionalized dendrimers are useful synthetic multivalent systems for the study of multivalent protein–carbohydrate interactions. For example, lactose functionalized glycodendrimers can be used to discern the function of galectins, galactoside-binding proteins that are often over-expressed during cancer progression. In order to effectively interpret cancer cellular assays using glycodendrimers, however, their properties in the presence of cells must first be assessed. Macromolecules that are taken up by cells would be expected to have access to many different cell signaling pathways and modes of action that solely extracellular macromolecules cannot utilize. In addition, macromolecules that display cellular toxicity could not be used as drug delivery vehicles. Here, we report fundamental studies of cellular toxicity, viability, and uptake with four generations of lactose functionalized PAMAM dendrimers. In all cases, the dendrimers are readily taken up by the cells but do not display any significant cellular toxicity. The glycodendrimers also increase cellular apoptosis, suggesting that they may abrogate the antiapoptotic protections afforded by galectin-3 to cancer cells. The results reported here indicate that appropriately functionalized PAMAM dendrimers can be used as nontoxic tools for the study and mediation of both extra and intracellular cancer processes.

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics - number of accesses to the document
Metadaten
Author:Mackenzie S. Fricke, Magalee R. Frometa, Yannic Kerkhoff, Samuel P. Bernhard, Ramat S. Tahir, Elisa Quaas, William H. Totten, Rainer Haag, Katharina Achazi, Mary J. Cloninger
Document Type:Article
Parent Title (English):Materials Advances
Volume:6
First Page:3171
Last Page:3184
Year of first publication:2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MA00782D
Accept ✔
Diese Webseite verwendet technisch erforderliche Session-Cookies. Durch die weitere Nutzung der Webseite stimmen Sie diesem zu. Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie hier.