Increased radiosensitivity of melanoma cells through cold plasma pretreatment mediated by ICG.

Abstract

Radiation therapy (RT) is the primary treatment for many cancers, but its effectiveness is reduced due to radioresistance and side effects. The study aims to investigate an emerging treatment for cancer, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), as a selectable treatment between cancerous and healthy cells and its role in the occurrence of photodynamic therapy (PDT) utilizing indocyanine green (ICG) as a photosensitizer. We examined whether the efficiency of radiotherapy could be improved by combining CAP with ICG. The PDT effect induced by cold plasma irradiation and the radiosensitivity of ICG were investigated on DFW and HFF cell lines. Then, for combined treatment, ICG was introduced to the cells and treated with radiotherapy, followed by cold plasma treatment simultaneously and 24-h intervals. MTT and colony assays were used to determine the survival of treated cells, and flow cytometry was used to identify apoptotic cells. Despite a decrease in the survival of melanoma cells in CAP, ICG did not affect RT. Comparing the ICG + CAP group with CAP, a significant reduction in cell survival was observed, confirming the photodynamic properties of plasma utilizing ICG. The treatment outcome depends on the duration of CAP. The results for healthy and cancer cells also confirmed the selectivity of plasma function. Moreover, cold plasma sensitized melanoma cells to radiotherapy, increasing treatment efficiency. Treatment of CAP with RT can be effective in treating melanoma. The inclusion of ICG results in plasma treatment enhancement. These findings help to select an optimal strategy for a combination of plasma and radiotherapy.

• Authors: Sara Momeni, Ahmad Shanei, Ameneh Sazgarnia, Rasool Azmoonfar, Farzaneh Ghorbani
• Journal: Journal of radiation research (J Radiat Res) Vol. 64 Issue 5 Pg. 751-760 (Sep 22 2023) ISSN: 1349-9157 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37586714 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Radiation Research Society and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology.

Chemical References

• Indocyanine Green
• Plasma Gases

Topics

• Humans
• Indocyanine Green (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Photochemotherapy (methods)
• Plasma Gases
• Melanoma (radiotherapy)
• Radiation Tolerance
• Cell Line, Tumor