Customer Publication
Epidermal growth factor potentiates EGFR(Y992/1173)-mediated therapeutic response of triple negative breast cancer cells to cold atmospheric plasma-activated medium
Journal: Redox Biology (2023)
Research Areas: Cancer Research
Cell Lines: HEK-293T, SUM-159PT, MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, HCC70, MDA-MB-231 and T-47D (Human embryonic kidney cells, human breast cancer cells,)
Summary: Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) holds promise as a cancer-specific treatment that selectively kills various types of malignant cells. The authors used CAP-activated media (PAM) to utilize a range of the generated short- and long-lived reactive species. Specific antibodies, small molecule inhibitors and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing approaches showed an essential role for receptor tyrosine kinases, especially epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, in mediating triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell responses to PAM. EGF also dramatically enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of PAM against TNBC cells. Site-specific phospho-EGFR analysis, signal transduction inhibitors and reconstitution of EGFR-depleted cells with EGFR-mutants confirmed the role of phospho-tyrosines 992/1173 and phospholipase C gamma signaling in up-regulating levels of reactive oxygen species above the apoptotic threshold. EGF-triggered EGFR activation enhanced the sensitivity and selectivity of PAM effects on TNBC cells. The proposed approach based on the synergy of CAP and EGFR-targeted therapy may provide new opportunities to improve the clinical management of TNBC.HoloMonitor M4 was used to study the morphology change of SUM159 and MDA-MB-231 cell before and after EGFR treatment.