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Plasma‐Induced Death of HepG2 Cancer Cells: Intracellular Effects of Reactive Species
Author(s) -
Yan Xu,
Xiong Zilan,
Zou Fei,
Zhao Shasha,
Lu Xinpei,
Yang Guangxiao,
He Guangyuan,
Ostrikov Kostya Ken
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.201100031
Subject(s) - intracellular , extracellular , reactive oxygen species , programmed cell death , oxidative stress , atmospheric pressure plasma , lipid peroxidation , cancer cell , chemistry , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , plasma , biochemistry , cancer , apoptosis , biology , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics
Abstract Reports show that cold atmospheric‐pressure plasmas can induce death of cancer cells in several minutes. However, very little is presently known about the mechanism of the plasma‐induced death of cancer cells. In this paper, an atmospheric‐pressure plasma plume is used to treat HepG2 cells. The experimental results show that the plasma can effectively control the intracellular concentrations of ROS, NO and lipid peroxide. It is shown that these concentrations are directly related to the mechanism of the HepG2 death, which involves several stages. First, the plasma generates NO species, which increases the NO concentration in the extracellular medium. Second, the intracellular NO concentration is increased due to the NO diffusion from the medium. Third, an increase in the intracellular NO concentration leads to the increase of the intracellular ROS concentration. Fourth, the increased oxidative stress results in more effective lipid peroxidation and consequently, cell injury. The combined action of NO, ROS and lipid peroxide species eventually results in the HepG2 cell death.