{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,18]],"date-time":"2026-10-18T22:46:57Z","timestamp":1792363617682,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,12]],"date-time":"2023-06-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1686528000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Brainwaves Northern Ireland","award":["NIC103464"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIC103464"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Glioblastoma (GBM) is known as the most aggressive type of malignant brain tumour, with an extremely poor prognosis of approximately 12 months following standard-of-care treatment with surgical resection, radiotherapy (RT), and temozolomide treatment. Novel RT-drug combinations are urgently needed to improve patient outcomes. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have demonstrated significant preclinical potential as radiosensitizers due to their unique physicochemical properties and their ability to pass the blood\u2013brain barrier. The modification of GNP surface coatings with poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) confers several therapeutic advantages including immune avoidance and improved cellular localisation. This study aimed to characterise both the radiosensitizing and immunomodulatory properties of differentially PEGylated GNPs in GBM cells in vitro. Two GBM cell lines were used, U-87 MG and U-251 MG. The radiobiological response was evaluated by clonogenic assay, immunofluorescent staining of 53BP1 foci, and flow cytometry. Changes in the cytokine expression levels were quantified by cytokine arrays. PEGylation improved the radiobiological efficacy, with double-strand break induction being identified as an underlying mechanism. PEGylated GNPs also caused the greatest boost in RT immunogenicity, with radiosensitization correlating with a greater upregulation of inflammatory cytokines. These findings demonstrate the radiosensitizing and immunostimulatory potential of ID11 and ID12 as candidates for RT-drug combination in future GBM preclinical investigations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms241210032","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,13]],"date-time":"2023-06-13T01:35:30Z","timestamp":1686620130000},"page":"10032","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Evaluation of Radiosensitization and Cytokine Modulation by Differentially PEGylated Gold Nanoparticles in Glioblastoma Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1957-9843","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Br\u00edanna N.","family":"Kerr","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Duffy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caitr\u00edona E.","family":"McInerney","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashton","family":"Hutchinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Inaya","family":"Dabaja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Utinam, UMR 6213 CNRS-UFC, University of Franche, 25000 Comt\u00e9, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rana","family":"Bazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Utinam, UMR 6213 CNRS-UFC, University of Franche, 25000 Comt\u00e9, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5198-1916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"St\u00e9phane","family":"Roux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Utinam, UMR 6213 CNRS-UFC, University of Franche, 25000 Comt\u00e9, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6134-7946","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kevin M.","family":"Prise","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7170-6789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karl T.","family":"Butterworth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7AE, Northern Ireland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"e8195","article-title":"Rising Incidence of Glioblastoma Multiforme in a Well-Defined Population","volume":"12","author":"Grech","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1231","DOI":"10.1093\/neuonc\/noab106","article-title":"The 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System: A summary","volume":"23","author":"Louis","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neuro-Oncology"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"1410","article-title":"Molecular biology of glioblastoma: Classification and mutational locations","volume":"67","author":"Soomro","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Pak. Med. 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