COLD ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA TREATMENT MODULATES THE EXPRESSION OF cdk1, tnfα AND tp53 GENES IN HUMAN OSTEOSARCOMA CELLS

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS), a malignancy primarily affecting children and adolescents, is the most frequently encountered malignant, non-hematologic, bone tumor. Despite the gradual improvement of survival rates, the management of this disease remains problematic due to challenges such metastasis development, its heterogeneous characteristics, and resistance to cytostatic drugs. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a partially ionized gas operating at near room temperature, which is comprised of free carriers, excited or neutral molecules, and active radicals capable of initiating diverse physical phenomena and chemical reactions represent a new and innovative potential solution in cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of CAP produced by our custom-build plasma source to induce cytotoxic effects to HOS cells and to analyze post-treatment modulations of cdk1, tnfα and tp53 genes expression. Direct and indirect CAP treatments effectiveness on HOS cells were evaluated by MTT assay and the regulation of interest genes expression were carried out by RT-qPCR analysis. Cell viability analysis revealed a strong cytotoxic effect of direct CAP treatment on HOS cells, while the indirect treatment resulted in a slight decrease of cells viability. Direct CAP treatment modulates the expression of all analyzed genes, both at 2- and 24-hours post-treatment. In conclusion, direct CAP treatment produced by our custom-build plasma source have cytotoxic effects on HOS cells in a dose-dependent manner up to 24 hours post-treatment. Furthermore, direct CAP treatment induces cell cycle arrest of HOS cells, and the CAP-induced cell death is independent of tp53 gene.