Non-thermal plasma-treated melatonin inhibits the biological activity of HCC cells by increasing intracellular ROS levels and reducing RRM2 expression
Bangjie Chen,
Tao Jin,
Ziyue Fu,
Haiwen Li,
Junfa Yang,
Yucheng Liu,
Yanxun Han,
Xinyi Wang,
Zhengwei Wu,
Tao Xu
Affiliations
Bangjie Chen
First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Tao Jin
School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Ziyue Fu
Second Clinical School of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Haiwen Li
Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Junfa Yang
Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Yucheng Liu
First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Yanxun Han
First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Xinyi Wang
First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
Zhengwei Wu
School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China; Corresponding author. School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China,
Tao Xu
Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province; School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute for Liver Diseases of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Corresponding author. Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province; School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China,
Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is thought to have a cytotoxic effect on tumor cells. Although its application in cancer therapy has shown considerable promise, the current understanding of its mechanism of action and cellular responses remains incomplete. Furthermore, the use of melatonin (MEL) as an adjuvant anticancer drug remains unexplored. In this study, we found that NTP assists MEL in promoting apoptosis, delaying cell cycle progression, and inhibiting cell invasion and migration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. This mechanism may be associated with the regulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 expression. Our findings confirm the pharmacological role of MEL and the adjuvant value of NTP, emphasizing their potential in combination therapy for HCC. Our study may have important implications for the development of new approaches for HCC treatment.
