Figure 4. Functional effect of nanoparticle treatment in protecting against oxidative stress in BeWo cells.

qPCR analysis of human insulin-like growth factor 1 (hIGF1) was increased in cells treated with nanoparticle (NP-Plac1-hIGF1 and H₂O₂+NP-Plac1-hIGF1) compared to untreated (control) and H₂O₂ alone (A). Compared to untreated, treatment with H₂O₂ significantly increased the percentage of dead cells but not when cells were pretreated with nanoparticle (B). Cell number was lower in cells treated with H₂O₂ alone and nanoparticle with H₂O₂ compared to untreated and nanoparticle alone treated (C). The BAX:BCL2 ratio was higher in cells treated with H₂O₂ as well as in those treated with nanoparticle and H₂O₂ when compared to untreated and nanoparticle alone treated (D). Mitochondrial activity, as measured by the percentage of rezaurin reduction, was lower in cells treated with H₂O₂ alone compared to untreated but not in cells treated with nanoparticle prior to H₂O₂ treatment (E). Data are median ± interquartile range (A) or mean ± SEM (B-E), n=6 passages. Statistical significance was determined with a repeated measures ANOVA and Sidak’s multiple comparison test.