Inhibition by low-temperature plasma jet on the viability of hepatoma cells and its mechanism

Many recently studies have demonstrated that low-temperature plasma (LTP) can induce apoptosis and necrosis in a variety of carcinoma cells in vitro. However, the inhibition mechanisms of LTP on carcinoma cells have been still largely unknown. This study is aimed to investigate the inhibition effect and mechanism of LTP on hepatoma cells. An argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet is used to generate LTP for the treatment of Hep3B human hepatoma cells cultured in vitro. LTP treatment time intervals are set as 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 s, respectively. After being treated with LTP, cell viability, cell apoptosis, cell cycle distribution and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay of hepatoma cells are respectively measured. Experimental results show that, compared with the control cells, treatment of hepatoma cells with 15, 20 and 25 s of plasma result in a significant reduction in cell viability. Based on the exploration of related mechanisms, it is suggested that ROS generated in LTP may reduce hepatoma cell viability by inducing cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis.