Cell Electropermeabilisation Enhancement by Non-Thermal-Plasma-Treated PBS
Thai-Hoa Chung1, Augusto Stancampiano2, Kyriakos Sklias3
1Institut Gustave Roussy, Metabolic and Systemic Aspects of Oncogenesis (METSY), Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, 94805 Villejuif, France.
Cancers
|January 23, 2020
Summary
Combining non-thermal plasma (NTP) treated saline with microsecond pulsed electric fields (µsPEFs) enhances cell membrane electropermeabilisation. This novel approach may enable electrochemotherapy (ECT) with lower electric field amplitudes, potentially reducing side effects.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cancer Therapy
- Plasma Medicine
Background:
- Electrochemotherapy (ECT) uses pulsed electric fields (PEFs) to enhance drug uptake for tumor treatment, but high electric pulse (EP) intensities cause drawbacks.
- Non-thermal plasmas (NTP) are emerging cancer therapies rich in reactive species.
- Investigating combined NTP and PEF treatments could offer a safer alternative to current ECT methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the combined effect of indirect NTP treatment and microsecond PEFs (µsPEFs) on in vitro cell electropermeabilisation.
- To determine if this combination can improve upon traditional ECT's basis of cell membrane permeabilisation.
- To explore the potential for reducing electric field amplitudes in ECT.
Main Methods:
- Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was treated with NTP (pPBS).
- Two cell lines (DC-3F and B16-F10) were treated with pPBS combined with µsPEFs at varying amplitudes.
- Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell membrane electropermeabilisation levels.
Main Results:
- The combination of pPBS and µsPEFs significantly increased cell membrane electropermeabilisation in both cell lines, even at low electric field amplitudes.
- B16-F10 cells showed higher sensitivity to the combined treatment compared to DC-3F cells.
- Using pPBS with low-amplitude µsPEFs (600 V/cm) achieved permeabilisation levels comparable to high-amplitude µsPEFs (1100 V/cm) alone.
Conclusions:
- Combining indirect NTP treatment with µsPEFs enhances cell electropermeabilisation, offering a promising avenue for cancer therapy.
- This approach allows for significantly reduced electric field amplitudes, potentially leading to a novel ECT with fewer side effects.
- The findings suggest a new strategy for improving the efficacy and safety of electrochemotherapy.
