Fig. 4

AGuIX nanoparticles combined with radiation promote the apoptosis of breast cancer cells. A Microscopic morphological observation of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells 24 h after irradiation. B Representative images of the apoptosis levels of MDA-MB-231 cells measured by flow cytometry after irradiation. C, D Statistical chart of the apoptosis levels of breast cancer cells measured by flow cytometry at 24 h and 48 h after irradiation. E, F Expression levels of the cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP proteins in the MDA-MB-231 cells via western blot analysis at the indicated postirradiation times. All data are represented as means ± standard errors of the means, n ≥ 3 independent replicates and P-values were calculated using two-tailed t-tests. A single asterisk indicates P < 0.05, two asterisks indicate P < 0.01, and three asterisks indicate P < 0.001