NON-THERMAL ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGE PLASMA ENHANCES ENDOTHELIAL CELL PROLIFERATION VIA FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR-2 RELEASE

摘要

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma is currently being investigated for a wide range of clinical applications, including skin sterilization, blood coagulation [1, 2], malignant cell apoptosis [1], and wound healing [1]. However, the effect of non-thermal plasma on the vasculature is unclear. Blood vessels are affected during plasma treatment of all tissues, and vessels themselves may be an important potential target for clinical plasma therapy.We investigated the effect of cold plasma treatment on endothelial cells, which line the inner surface of blood vessels. Endothelial cells play a guiding role in angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels from existing vessels. In various disease conditions, healing may result from promoting or blocking angiogenesis.We hypothesize that plasma treatment can be varied to grow or regress blood vessels. We have previously demonstrated that high dose plasma treatment induces endothelial cell apoptosis, whereas low plasma doses are relatively non-toxic. In this paper, we present enhanced proliferation in low dose plasma treated endothelial cells in vitro, as well as mechanisms for the observed effect.