Non-thermal plasma treatment altered gene expression profiling in non-small-cell lung cancer A549 cells

BACKGROUND: Recent technological advances in atmospheric plasmas have made the creation of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTP) possible for utilization in the medical field. Although accumulated evidence suggests that NTP induces cell death in various cancer cell types thus offering a promising alternative treatment strategy, the mechanism underlying its therapeutic effect is not fully understood. RESULTS: We analyzed relevant signaling cascades associated with the tumor protein p53, in particular the cell cycle arrest, DNA damage as well as the underlying apoptosis pathways. Based on our results, the major effect from plasma exposure was found to be the activation of MAPK and p53 signaling pathways, resulting in changes in gene expression of MEKK, GADD, FOS and JUN. Finally, a significant modulation in expression of genes related to cellular proliferation and differentiation was observed. CONCLUSION: Overall, the presented data of the tumor transcriptome helped identify the key players in modulated gene expression following exposure to plasma at the molecular level, and also helped interpret the downstream processes. The present work laid the foundation for further studies to clarify the roles of multiple pathways in plasma-induced biological processes. Further investigation of these genes in other cell lines may reveal comprehensive mechanisms of plasma induced effects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1644-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.