The role of aquaporins in the anti-glioblastoma capacity of the cold plasma-stimulated medium

The cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a promising novel anti-cancer method. Our previous study showed that the cold plasma-stimulated medium (PSM) exerted remarkable anti-cancer effect as effectively as the direct CAP treatment did. H2O2 has been identified as a key anti-cancer substance in PSM. However, the mechanisms underlying intracellular H2O2 regulation by cancer cells is largely unknown. Aquaporins (AQPs) are the confirmed membrane channels of H2O2. In this study, we first demonstrated that the anti-glioblastoma capacity of PSM could be inhibited by silencing the expression of AQP8 in glioblastoma cells (U87MG) or using the aquaporins-blocker silver atoms. This discovery illustrates the key intermediate role of AQPs in the toxicity of PSM on cancer cells. Because the expression of AQPs varies significantly among different cancer cell lines, this study may facilitate the understanding on the diverse responses of cancer cells to PSM or the direct CAP treatment.