Cold Atmospheric Plasma Triggers Apoptosis via the Unfolded Protein Response in Melanoma Cells

Zimmermann T, Stäbler S, Taudte RV, Ünüvar S, Groesch S, Arndt S, Karrer S, Fromm M, Boßerhoff AK (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Cancers MDPI

Book Volume: 15

Article Number: 1064

Journal Issue: 4

DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041064

Abstract

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) describes a partially ionized gas carrying large amounts of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS). Numerous studies reported strong antitumor activity of CAP, thus rendering it a promising approach for tumor therapy. Although several cellular mechanisms of its cytotoxicity were identified in recent years, the exact molecular effects and contributing signaling pathways are yet to be discovered. We discovered a strong activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) after CAP treatment with increased C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) expression, which was mainly caused by protein misfolding and calcium loss in the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, both ceramide level and ceramide metabolism were reduced after CAP treatment, which was then linked to the UPR activation. Pharmacological inhibition of ceramide metabolism resulted in sensitization of melanoma cells for CAP both in vitro and ex vivo. This study identified a novel mechanism of CAP-induced apoptosis in melanoma cells and thereby contributes to its potential application in tumor therapy.

Authors with CRIS profile

Tom Zimmermann Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Sebastian Stäbler Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Sumeyya Ünüvar Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin Martin Fromm Lehrstuhl für Klinische Pharmakologie und Klinische Toxikologie Anja Katrin Boßerhoff Lehrstuhl für Biochemie und Molekulare Medizin

Involved external institutions

Universitätsklinikum Regensburg DE Germany (DE) Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Zimmermann, T., Stäbler, S., Taudte, R.V., Ünüvar, S., Groesch, S., Arndt, S.,... Boßerhoff, A.K. (2023). Cold Atmospheric Plasma Triggers Apoptosis via the Unfolded Protein Response in Melanoma Cells. Cancers, 15(4). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers15041064

MLA:

Zimmermann, Tom, et al. "Cold Atmospheric Plasma Triggers Apoptosis via the Unfolded Protein Response in Melanoma Cells." Cancers 15.4 (2023).

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