One of the promising possibilities of the clinical application of cold plasma, so-called cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), is its application on malignant cells and cancer tissue using its anti-neoplastic effects, primarily through the delivery of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS). In this study, we investigated the impact of CAP on cellular proliferation and consecutive molecular response mechanisms in established prostate cancer (PC) cell lines. PC cells showed a significantly reduced cell growth following CAP treatment as a result of both an immediate increase of intracellular peroxide levels and through the induction of apoptosis indicated by annexin V assay, TUNEL assay, and the evaluation of changes in nuclear morphology. Notably, co-administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) completely neutralized CAP effects by NAC uptake and rapid conversion to glutathione (GSH). Vitamin C could not counteract the CAP induced effects on cell growth. In summary, relatively short treatments with CAP of 10 seconds were sufficient to induce a significant inhibition of cancer proliferation, as observed for the first time in urogenital cancer. Therefore, it is important to understand the mode of CAP related cell death and clarify and optimize CAP as cancer therapy. Increased levels of peroxides can alter redox-regulated signaling pathways and can lead to growth arrest and apoptosis. We assume that the general intracellular redox homeostasis, especially the levels of cellular GSH and peroxidases such as peroxiredoxins affect the outcome of the CAP treatment.

There is increasing evidence that polymorphisms of the adenosine 5 0 triphosphate membrane transporters ABCB1 (P-glycoprotein, MDR1) may affect expression and function, whereas less information is available about the impact of ABCC2 (multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP2)) single-nucleotide polymorphisms . Particularly, their role in human kidney for drug elimination and in the etiology of renal cell carcinoma is poorly understood. ABCB1 and ABCC2 mRNA and protein expression levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction or immunohistochemistry in kidney cancer and adjacent unaffected cortex tissue of 82 nephrectomized renal cell cancer (RCC) patients (63 clear-cell RCC (CCRCC), 19 non-CCRCC). The DNA of all patients was genotyped for ABCB1 À2352G4A, À692T4C, 2677G4T/A (Ala893Ser/Thr), and 3435C4T, and ABCC2 À24C4T, 1249G4A (Val417Ile) and 3972C4T. ABCB1 and ABCC2 were less expressed in CCRCC than in normal cortex on mRNA as well as on protein level. Although the overall genotype frequency distribution did not differ between the patients and a matched control group, ABCB1 2677T/ A and 3435T genotypes were associated with higher (P ¼ 0.02 and P ¼ 0.04) and ABCC2 À24 T with lower mRNA levels in normal tissues (0.03). The expression of ABCB1 and ABCC2 was not related to genetic variants in RCC tissue. In a reporter gene assay in HepG2 cells, the ABCC2 À24T construct showed an 18.7% reduced activity (P ¼ 0.003). In conclusion, ABCB1 and ABCC2 genotypes modulate the expression in the unaffected renal cortex of RCC patients, possibly contributing to inter-individual differences in drug and xenobiotics elimination. Their role in RCC cancer susceptibility or chemotherapy resistance needs further elucidation.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00732914, www.clinicaltrials.gov.

The morphology of podocyte foot processes is obligatory for renal function. Here we describe a method for the superresolution-visualization of podocyte foot processes using structured illumination microscopy of the slit diaphragm, which before has only been achieved by electron microscopy. As a proof of principle, we measured a mean foot process width of 0.249 ± 0.068 µm in healthy kidneys and a significant higher mean foot process width of 0.675 ± 0.256 µm in minimal change disease patients indicating effacement of foot processes. We then hypothesized that the slit length per glomerular capillary surface area (slit diaphragm density) could be used as an equivalent for the diagnosis of effacement. Using custom-made software we measured a mean value of 3.10 ± 0.27 µm−1 in healthy subjects and 1.83 ± 0.49 µm−1 in the minimal change disease patients. As foot process width was highly correlated with slit diaphragm density (R2 = 0.91), we concluded that our approach is a valid method for the diagnosis of foot process effacement. In summary, we present a new technique to quantify podocyte damage, which combines superresolution microscopy with automatized image processing. Due to its diverse advantages, we propose this technique to be included into routine diagnostics of glomerular histopathology.

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