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    Gas Plasma Technology Augments Ovalbumin Immunogenicity and OT-II T Cell Activation Conferring Tumor Protection in Mice
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Clemen, Ramona; Freund, Eric; Mrochen, Daniel; Miebach, Lea; Schmidt, Anke; Rauch, Bernhard H.; Lackmann, Jan‐Wilm; Martens, Ulrike; Wende, Kristian; Lalk, Michael; Delcea, Mihaela; Bröker, Barbara M.; Bekeschus, Sander
    Reactive oxygen species (ROS/RNS) are produced during inflammation and elicit protein modifications, but the immunological consequences are largely unknown. Gas plasma technology capable of generating an unmatched variety of ROS/RNS is deployed to mimic inflammation and study the significance of ROS/RNS modifications using the model protein chicken ovalbumin (Ova vs oxOva). Dynamic light scattering and circular dichroism spectroscopy reveal structural modifications in oxOva compared to Ova. T cells from Ova-specific OT-II but not from C57BL/6 or SKH-1 wild type mice presents enhanced activation after Ova addition. OxOva exacerbates this activation when administered ex vivo or in vivo, along with an increased interferon-gamma production, a known anti-melanoma agent. OxOva vaccination of wild type mice followed by inoculation of syngeneic B16F10 Ova-expressing melanoma cells shows enhanced T cell number and activation, decreased tumor burden, and elevated numbers of antigen-presenting cells when compared to their Ova-vaccinated counterparts. Analysis of oxOva using mass spectrometry identifies three hot spots regions rich in oxidative modifications that are associated with the increased T cell activation. Using Ova as a model protein, the findings suggest an immunomodulating role of multi-ROS/RNS modifications that may spur novel research lines in inflammation research and for vaccination strategies in oncology.
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    Risk Evaluation of EMT and Inflammation in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Cells Following Plasma Treatment
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Media, 2020) Freund, Eric; Spadola, Chiara; Schmidt, Anke; Privat-Maldonado, Angela; Bogaerts, Annemie; Woedtke, Thomas von; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter; Heidecke, Claus-Dieter; Partecke, Lars-Ivo; Käding, André; Bekeschus, Sander
    The requirements for new technologies to serve as anticancer agents go far beyond their toxicity potential. Novel applications also need to be safe on a molecular and patient level. In a broader sense, this also relates to cancer metastasis and inflammation. In a previous study, the toxicity of an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet in four human pancreatic cancer cell lines was confirmed and plasma treatment did not promote metastasis in vitro and in ovo. Here, these results are extended by additional types of analysis and new models to validate and define on a molecular level the changes related to metastatic processes in pancreatic cancer cells following plasma treatment in vitro and in ovo. In solid tumors that were grown on the chorion-allantois membrane of fertilized chicken eggs (TUM-CAM), plasma treatment induced modest to profound apoptosis in the tissues. This, however, was not associated with a change in the expression levels of adhesion molecules, as shown using immunofluorescence of ultrathin tissue sections. Culturing of the cells detached from these solid tumors for 6d revealed a similar or smaller total growth area and expression of ZEB1, a transcription factor associated with cancer metastasis, in the plasma-treated pancreatic cancer tissues. Analysis of in vitro and in ovo supernatants of 13 different cytokines and chemokines revealed cell line-specific effects of the plasma treatment but a noticeable increase of, e.g., growth-promoting interleukin 10 was not observed. Moreover, markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a metastasis-promoting cellular program, were investigated. Plasma-treated pancreatic cancer cells did not present an EMT-profile. Finally, a realistic 3D tumor spheroid co-culture model with pancreatic stellate cells was employed, and the invasive properties in a gel-like cellular matrix were investigated. Tumor outgrowth and spread was similar or decreased in the plasma conditions. Altogether, these results provide valuable insights into the effect of plasma treatment on metastasis-related properties of cancer cells and did not suggest EMT-promoting effects of this novel cancer therapy. © Copyright © 2020 Freund, Spadola, Schmidt, Privat-Maldonado, Bogaerts, von Woedtke, Weltmann, Heidecke, Partecke, Käding and Bekeschus.
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    The Anticancer Efficacy of Plasma-Oxidized Saline (POS) in the Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma Model In Vitro and In Vivo
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Brito, Walison Augusto Silva; Freund, Eric; Nascimento, Thiago Daniel Henrique do; Pasqual-Melo, Gabriella; Sanches, Larissa Juliani; Dionísio, Joyce Hellen Ribeiro; Fumegali, William Capellari; Miebach, Lea; Cecchini, Alessandra Lourenço; Bekeschus, Sander
    Cold physical plasma, a partially ionized gas rich in reactive oxygen species (ROS), is receiving increasing interest as a novel anticancer agent via two modes. The first involves its application to cells and tissues directly, while the second uses physical plasma-derived ROS to oxidize liquids. Saline is a clinically accepted liquid, and here we explored the suitability of plasma-oxidized saline (POS) as anticancer agent technology in vitro and in vivo using the Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) model. EAC mainly grows as a suspension in the peritoneal cavity of mice, making this model ideally suited to test POS as a putative agent against peritoneal carcinomatosis frequently observed with colon, pancreas, and ovarium metastasis. Five POS injections led to a reduction of the tumor burden in vivo as well as in a decline of EAC cell growth and an arrest in metabolic activity ex vivo. The treatment was accompanied by a decreased antioxidant capacity of Ehrlich tumor cells and increased lipid oxidation in the ascites supernatants, while no other side effects were observed. Oxaliplatin and hydrogen peroxide were used as controls and mediated better and worse outcomes, respectively, with the former but not the latter inducing profound changes in the inflammatory milieu among 13 different cytokines investigated in ascites fluid. Modulation of inflammation in the POS group was modest but significant. These results promote POS as a promising candidate for targeting peritoneal carcinomatosis and malignant ascites and suggest EAC to be a suitable and convenient model for analyzing innovative POS approaches and combination therapies.