Comparative effects of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma on migration and invasion in oral squamous cell cancer, by gas type

Purpose: The fourth state of matter, plasma is known as an ionized gas with electrons, radicals and ions. The use of non-thermal plasma (NTP) in cancer research became possible because of the progresses in plasma medicine. Previous studies on the potential NTP-mediated cancer therapy have mainly concentrated on cancer cell apoptosis. In the present study, we compared the inhibitory effect of NTP on cell migration and invasion in the oral squamous cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: We used oral squamous cancer cell lines (SCC1483, MSKQLL1) and different gases (N₂, He, and Ar). To investigate the mechanism of plasma treatment, using different gases (N₂, He, and Ar) which induces anti-migration and anti-invasion properties, we performed wound healing assay, invasion assay and gelatin zymography. Results: The results showed that NTP inhibits cancer cell migration and invasion of oral squamous cancer cell. In addition, focal adhesion kinase expression and matrix metalloproteinase-2/9 activity were also inhibited. Conclusion: The suppression of cancer cell invasion by NTP varied depending on the type of gas. Comparison of the three gases revealed that N₂ NTP inhibited cell migration and invasion most potently via decreased expression of focal adhesion kinase and matrix metalloproteinase activity.