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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Production and Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Cancers
Published on: November 21, 2011
Reactive oxygen species, especially O2+* in cancer mechanisms
Ivan Engler1, Christian Atzmüeller, Viliam Donic
1Department of Physiology, University P. J. Safarik, Faculty of Medicine, Trieda SNP 1, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia.
Unlabelled:
In the nature including the human organism there are 5 reactive oxygen species (ROS): O2, O2-*, O2+*, 1O2, O3 with different electromagnetic characteristics and biological effects. The effects of enrichment of medical oxygen O2 with traces of ROS on various cells were tested in experiments.
Methods:
Human embryonic lung fibroblasts WI38 damaged by Radon Rn222 into WI38/ Rn cells and WI38 cells transformed by virus SV40 into VA13 cells were exposed to different ROS gas mixtures, prepared in high - voltage plasma chamber of "Oxygen Ion 3000". Trans-membrane resting potential (TMRP) was measured and cells morphology was visually observed using microscopy during 10 days.
Results:
Exposition of WI38, WI38/Rn and VA13 to medical O2, alone show no effect in TMRP and in cell morphology. But pico-concentration of O2+* in medical O2 increased the TMRP in WI38/Rn cells from -25mV to -35mV (variance 0.5-2mV) (p < 0.001) with improvement of cells morphology and the TMRP of VA13 cells from -15mV to -32mV (2-3mV) (p < 0.001) with a maximum effect on the 5th day. Later the TMRP strongly decreased and the cell membrane ruptured due to water influx. O2, enriched with O2-* alone or together with O2+* had no significant effect in WI38/Rn and VA13 groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
Radon protective effect on WI38/Rn or destructive effect on VA13 of pico-concentrations of O2+* in medical O2 conforms to the theory of hormesis resp. to hypothesis of cancer induction mechanisms, supporting it's further experimental or clinical use.
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