On the Mechanism of Plasma Inducing Cell Apoptosis

Abstract

A cold atmospheric-pressure plasma, which has been widely used for biomedical applications, may potentially affect the cell cycle and cause cell apoptosis. In this paper, a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HepG2) is treated by a singleelectrode plasma jet device. Further investigation by using flow cytometric analysis demonstrates that plasma treatment increases the percentage of apoptotic cells being associated with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Moreover, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay shows that the cyclin B1 and Cdc2 are decreased at the transcription level after plasma treatment, while the expression of the p21 Cdk inhibitor, as well as that of tumor suppressor p53, is enhanced. On the other hand, the levels of certain pro-or antiapoptotic genes are checked, and the experimental results suggest that the plasma induces apoptosis by shifting the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio to trigger HepG2 cell apoptosis. The results of the present investigation indicate that the plasma jet device may have potential therapeutic activities, such as sterilization of living tissue and tumor therapy of the postoperative treatment process.

Cold Atmospheric Plasma: methods of production and application in dentistry and oncology

“…They found the expression of the p21 CDK inhibitor (cell cycle inhibitor) and the protein p53 are increased [149]. …”

Plasma Medicine: A Brief Introduction

“…Investigators reported that the effects of LTP on biological cells (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) are mediated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) [11,12,[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. These species include hydroxyl, OH, atomic oxygen, O, singlet delta oxygen, O 2 ( 1 ∆), superoxide, O 2 − , hydrogen peroxide, H 2 O 2 , and nitric oxide, NO.…”

Gene expression responses of HeLa cells to chemical species generated by an atmospheric plasma flow

“…When irradiated to water, it generates a variety of chemical species, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) with only a slight change in temperature [11]. Application of atmospheric plasma flow to cells has been studied due to this feature, and various effects have been observed to date: induction of apoptosis [12,13], cell cycle arrest [14], reduction of tumor size [15], and selective death of melanoma cells [16].…”