Article

Targeting the cancer cell cycle by cold atmospheric plasma

Olga VolotskovaDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. [email protected]Teresa S. HawleyFlow Cytometry Core Facility, The George Washington University, 2300 I St. NW, Ross Hall 118, Washington, DC, 20037Mary Ann SteppDept. Of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, The George Washington University, SMHS, 2300 I St. NW, Ross Hall 226C, Washington, DC, 20037Michael KeidarDept. Of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, SEAS, 801 22nd St. NW, Phillips Hall 735, Washington, DC, 20052

2012en

ABI

Abstract

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a technology based on quasi-neutral ionized gas at low temperatures, is currently being evaluated as a new highly selective alternative addition to existing cancer therapies. Here, we present a first attempt to identify the mechanism of CAP action. CAP induced a robust ~2-fold G2/M increase in two different types of cancer cells with different degrees of tumorigenicity. We hypothesize that the increased sensitivity of cancer cells to CAP treatment is caused by differences in the distribution of cancer cells and normal cells within the cell cycle. The expression of γH2A.X (pSer139), an oxidative stress reporter indicating S-phase damage, is enhanced specifically within CAP treated cells in the S phase of the cell cycle. Together with a significant decrease in EdU-incorporation after CAP, these data suggest that tumorigenic cancer cells are more susceptible to CAP treatment.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1038/srep00636

Citations and references

Cited by 20 references

Metrics — AkademScholar