The Influence of the Synthetic Polycation Poly-2-Dimethylaminoethyl Methacrylate on the Biological Activity of Resident and Nonresident Cells of Mammals

Abstract

Cationic polymers are positively charged high-molecular compounds that have N-containing functional groups, such as primary, secondary, and tertiary amine groups, quaternary ammonium groups, etc. In this work, we studied the effect of the synthetic polycation poly-2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (PDMAEM) on the biological activity of Chinese hamster fibroblasts and human erythrocytes. Analysis of the effect of the polycation on cell adhesion was carried out using a fibroblast culture. Culture plastic, treated or untreated with polycation, was used as a substrate. Adsorption of the polycation on the polystyrene surface did not lead to a change in the adhesive ability of fibroblasts. Pretreatment of fibroblasts with PDMAEM in low concentrations (0.1 and 1 μg/mL) did not affect the adhesive properties of cells seeded on untreated plastic. At concentrations of 10 and 100 μg/mL, PDMAEM inhibited the attachment of fibroblasts to this substrate. A relationship has been determined between the suppression of cell adhesion under the influence of the polymer and its toxic effect on the viability of fibroblasts. Treatment of human erythrocytes with the polycation at concentrations of 10 and 100 μg/mL resulted in cell damage and release of hemoglobin from erythrocytes. At low doses, the polycation had practically no effect on the processes of hemolysis of erythrocytes. It was shown that PDMAEM caused morphological changes in erythrocytes and their aggregation. The toxic effect of the polycation on human erythrocytes generally coincided with that for animal fibroblasts. Possible cellular targets that may be affected by the studied polycation are discussed.