Silica nanoparticles induce apoptosis in human endothelial cells via reactive oxygen species

To investigate the effect of silica nanoparticles on human endothelial cells, cell viability, apoptosis and the production of reactive oxygen species( ROS) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) after exposure silica nanoparticles with different concentrations were performed by MTS assay and flow cytometry respectively. Our results showed that silica nanoparticles could cause apoptosis and increase ROS generation in HUVEC in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that apoptosis in HUVEC could be induced by silica nanoparticles via ROS-dependent pathway.