Mechanistic study on tumor-selective killing by plasma

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K06883
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Tumor therapeutics
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: SOMA Masayoshi 日本大学, 医学部, 教授 (30246855)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 鈴木 良弘 日本大学, 医学部, 研究員 (80206549) ; 浅井 朋彦 日本大学, 理工学部, 教授 (00386004) ; 藤原 恭子 日本大学, 医学部, 助教 (40595708)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: プラズマ / 癌 / ミトコンドリア / 酸化ストレス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) exhibits cytotoxicity against malignant cells, but not toward normal cells and is emerging as a promising new tool for cancer treatment. We found that CAP-activated medium (PAM) induced mitochondrial network aberration in a panel of human cancer cells, but not in non-transformed cells. CAP irradiation resulted in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) most likely hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in PAM, and in turn caused intracellular ROS generation especially within the mitochondria. PAM caused excessive mitochondrial fragmentation, swelling, and clustering, all responses as well as the cell death were abolished by ROS scavengers. The vulnerability of tumor cells to mitochondrial network aberration seemed to result from their higher sensitivity to mitochondrial ROS accumulation induced by PAM or H2O2. The present findings shed a light on the importance of mitochondrial network remodeling as a powerful target for tumor-selective cancer treatment by PAM.

Free Research Field

総合領域