The Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma on the Expression of Apoptotic Genes in Breast Cancerous Cells

Breast cancer is one of the most malignant cancersin the world. Cold micro plasma jet (CMPJ) Known as cold atmospheric jet microplasma, it has recently been introduced as an alternative way to overcome the challenges of finding an effective cancer treatment. Numerous studies have reported promising results, so our aim of this study was to investigate how this method affects cell death and its role on the expression of apoptotic genes in the MCF-7 cancer cell line.

In this study, helium gas was used to generate plasma at room temperature in the form of point radiation at different times of 30, 60, 90 and 120 seconds and at different distances of 1 cm. Flow cytometry will be used to examine the extent of apoptosis andnecrosis. Genes involved in apoptosis P53, P21, Bax and Bcl-2 were measured by real-time PCR.

Our Studie indicate that the mechanism of action of cold plasma on cancer cells is related to generation of reactive oxygen species with possible induction of the apoptosis pathway. The percentages of necrotic and late apoptotic cells following treatment with different times plasma (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 s) were about 0.55 ± 0.06, 20.13 ± 0.01, 20.12 ± 0.03, 26.81 ± 0.04 and 17.51 ± 0.05. The mRNA expression of bcl-2 showed a decrease of 90s of plasma while the mRNA expression of p53, bax and caspase-8 genes increased compared to untreated cells.

In general, research in the last decade has confirmed the ability of CMPJ as an effective anti-cancer tool. Therefore, it may be used to help treat cancer. However, its clinical application requires much further studies to determine the severity and duration of exposure to CMPJ for effective treatment based on the type of cancer.