Cold Atmospheric Plasma Induces HMGB1 Expression in Cancer Cells

Abstract

Background/Aim: Plasma medicine is a new field that provides great potential for the treatment of human diseases including cancer in addition to sterilizing the surface of skin and facilitating wound healing. Recently, nonthermal atmospheric plasma (or cold atmospheric plasma, CAP) was introduced, not only for denaturing cells and tissues, but also for operating under the threshold of thermal damage and for chemically inducing a specific response or modification. Materials and Methods: Microwave-mediated CAP was used in this study. Results: CAP increased highmobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) expression, thereby increasing HMGB-1 secretion. In addition, we observed that the calreticulin (CRT) protein was concentrated at the cellular membrane when plasma was treated, representing immunogenic cell death. Conclusion: Overall, plasma treatment induces apoptosis via immunogenic cell death in cancer cells, implying a potential application to human cancer therapy and for the treatment of other human diseases.Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the USA, and conventional therapeutic approaches including chemo/radio therapy could not face the current crisis. New technologies, concepts, or combination therapies are needed to improve the current situation. Plasma is an energy that consists of active

Intracellular Responses Triggered by Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Plasma-Activated Media in Cancer Cells

“…In this way, PAM rich in H 2 O 2 was shown to increase calreticulin exposure and ATP release in tumour cells [117]. CAP exposure induced cell death of MX-7 rhabdomyosarcoma cells [118] and of vestibular schwannoma cancer cells [119] via similar calreticulin and HSP70 externalization and increased HMGB1 release. Prostate cancer cells exposure to CAP-PBS resulted in their enhanced immunostimulatory secretion profile (higher TNF-α and IFN-γ, lower TGF-β), and increased phagocytosis by dendritic cells [17], whereas in CAP-exposed keratinocytes, expression of key regulators important for inflammation (IL-8, TGF-β1, and TGF-β2) was found increased [120].…”

Non-Thermal Plasma Application in Tumor-Bearing Mice Induces Increase of Serum HMGB1

“…For CAP activity, it was verified that the CAP treatment of B16F10 cells promoted DC maturation in vitro [ 2 ]. In addition, Yoon and co-authors have also shown that CAP induced the expression of HMGB1 in cancer cells [ 11 ]. These findings indicated that CAP can change the intra- and extra-cellular level of HMGB1.…”

Anticancer Effects of Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Canine Osteosarcoma Cells

“…Previous efforts focused on detecting and identifying the basic processes of plasma had an aim of designing plasma machines for specific applications. Although most studies focused on dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) methods, we recently reported the use of microwave plasma to induce immunogenic cell death in human cancer cells [ 6 ]. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is ionized gas with high energy at relatively low temperatures.…”

“…Plasma medicine recently became a new area in human medicine [ 10 ] due to its mechanisms—including DNA damage, apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy by stimulating many ROS-mediated signaling pathways—leading to anticancer activity [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Recent studies have demonstrated that plasma can induce immunogenic cell death in cancer cells, which provides a potential application in cancer immunotherapy [ 6 , 14 , 15 ]. The use of CAP for biomedical treatments is an exciting new application, and could take plasma further in systematic medical research.…”