Supramolecular Insights into Domino Effects of Ag@ZnO-induced Oxidative Stress in Melanoma Cancer Cells

Recent studies suggest that cancer cell death accompanied by organelle dysfunction might be a promising approach for cancer therapy. The Golgi apparatus has a key role in cell function and may initiate signaling pathways to mitigate stress and, if irreparable, start apoptosis. It has been shown that Golgi disassembly and fragmentation under oxidative stress act as an indicator for stress-mediated cell death pathways through cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. The present study shows that UV-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by Ag@ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) transform the Golgi structures from compressed perinuclear ribbons into detached vesicle-like structures distributed in the entire cytoplasm of melanoma cells. This study also demonstrates that Ag@ZnO NPs-induced Golgi fragmentation co-occurs with G2 block of the cell-cycle progression, preventing cells from entering the mitosis phase. Additionally, the increased intracellular ROS production triggered by Ag@ZnO NPs upon UV exposure, promote...