Selective cytotoxic effect of non-thermal micro-DBD plasma

Abstract

Non-thermal plasma has been extensively researched as a new cancer treatment technology. We investigated the selective cytotoxic effects of non-thermal micro-dielectric barrier discharge (micro-DBD) plasma in cervical cancer cells. Two human cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and SiHa) and one human fibroblast (HFB) cell line were treated with micro-DBD plasma. All cells underwent apoptotic death induced by plasma in a dose-dependent manner. The plasma showed selective inhibition of cell proliferation in cervical cancer cells compared to HFBs. The selective effects of the plasma were also observed between the different cervical cancer cell lines. Plasma treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of SiHa cells in comparison to HeLa cells. The changes in gene expression were significant in the cervical cancer cells in comparison to HFBs. Among the cancer cells, apoptosis-related genes were significantly enriched in SiHa cells. These changes were consistent with the differential cytotoxic effects observed in different cell lines.

Changes in the biomechanical properties of a single cell induced by nonthermal atmospheric pressure micro‐dielectric barrier discharge plasma

“…Most of the cells were dead after long exposures of 5 and 8 mins. This result indicates selectively cytotoxic effects from nonthermal atmospheric pressure micro‐DBD plasma on cells, as suggested in our previous work (Kwon et al, ). The selectively cytotoxic effects of the plasma on the different cell types were caused by changes in apoptosis‐related gene expression.…”

“…All cells were exposed to the plasma for varying exposure times and then incubated for 48 hours. The discharge energy delivered to the cells during the plasma exposure (for 1, 3, 5, and 8 mins) corresponded to 11, 33, 55, and 88 J, respectively (Kwon et al, ). A significant decrease in cell viability was observed in all cells; however, the decreasing viability associated with plasma exposure time varied with cell type.…”

“…Cells were then exposed to the plasma for varying times (0, 1, 3, 5, and 8 mins). After 48 hours of incubation, the conventional MTT assay was conducted to compare the cytotoxic effects of the plasma (Kwon et al, ). All experiments were performed at least in triplicate.…”

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAP) as a New Tool for the Management of Vulva Cancer and Vulvar Premalignant Lesions in Gynaecological Oncology

“…The mechanisms underlying this selective cancer cells killing are explained as follows: cancer cells are characterised by a more active metabolic status, resulting in higher basal ROS and RNS levels, making these cells more susceptible to the oxidative stress added by CAP, and especially when cancer cells express high DNA replication activity and there is a high percentage of cells in the S-phase [11][12][13]. This CAP effect on cancer cells can be further augmented by synergic combination with PAM-nanoparticles (plasma activated medium) [14].…”

“…CAP applications in oncology have shown remarkable anticancer effects in vitro cell-lines, including, for example, melanoma [30], cutaneous squamous carcinoma [31], pancreatic [32], liver [33], gastric [34], colon [35], prostate or urinary bladder [36,37], breast [38][39][40][41][42][43][44], head and neck cancer [45], osteosarcoma [46,47], glioblastoma [48], lymphoma [49], acute myeloid leukaemia [50], multiple myeloma [51], human fibrosarcoma [52], or lung cancer [53], as well as in vivo solid tumour types in animal (mice) models, e.g., colon [54], breast [55,56], prostate cancer [57], cholangiocarcinoma [58], schwannoma [59], glioblastoma [60], or melanoma [61]. A limited number of studies have been published in oncogynaecology, however, mostly restricted to in vitro cell lines, e.g., cervical [12,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69], endometrial [70][71][72], or ovarian…”