Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 07985, Korea.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, 02841, Korea.
Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 19;14(1):21851. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-72750-z.
Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is an emerging technology with extensive applications in biomedicine, including treatment of abnormal pigmentation. However, very few studies have investigated how plasma induces anti-melanogenesis. Here, liquid plasma was prepared by treating an NTP jet with helium and oxygen (as carrier gases) for 15 min in serum-free culture media. In the zebrafish model, pigmentation ratio was observed with or without liquid plasma. The anti-melanogenic effect of liquid plasma was evaluated in human melanocytes by assessing the expression of melanogenesis-related genes using western blotting, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. Liquid plasma reduced pigmentation in the zebrafish model and inhibited melanin synthesis in primary human melanocytes. Intracellular reactive oxygen species levels decreased and Nrf2 expression increased in liquid plasma-treated melanocytes. Liquid plasma affected microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase mRNA and protein levels, tyrosinase activity, and melanin content. Considering the role of Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/Akt pathways in melanogenesis, the effect of liquid plasma on this pathway was determined; liquid plasma decreased active β-catenin, LEF1/TCF4, MITF, and tyrosinase levels in a time-dependent manner and inhibited the nuclear translocation of β-catenin. This inhibition subsequently suppressed melanogenesis by downregulating MITF and tyrosinase. These results suggest that liquid plasma may be used for treating pigmentary disorders.
非热等离子体（NTP）是一种新兴技术，在生物医学中有广泛的应用，包括治疗异常色素沉着。然而，很少有研究探讨等离子体如何诱导抗黑色素生成。在这里，通过用氦气和氧气（作为载气）处理 NTP 射流 15 分钟，在无血清培养基中制备液体等离子体。在斑马鱼模型中，观察有无液体等离子体时的色素沉着比。通过 Western blot、RT-PCR 和免疫组织化学评估与黑色素生成相关基因的表达，评估液体等离子体对人黑素细胞的抗黑色素生成作用。液体等离子体减少了斑马鱼模型中的色素沉着，并抑制了原代人黑素细胞中的黑色素合成。液体等离子体处理的黑素细胞中细胞内活性氧水平降低，Nrf2 表达增加。液体等离子体影响小眼相关转录因子（MITF）和酪氨酸酶 mRNA 和蛋白水平、酪氨酸酶活性和黑色素含量。考虑到 Wnt/β-catenin 和 PI3K/Akt 通路在黑色素生成中的作用，确定了液体等离子体对该通路的影响；液体等离子体以时间依赖性方式降低了活性β-catenin、LEF1/TCF4、MITF 和酪氨酸酶水平，并抑制了β-catenin 的核转位。这种抑制通过下调 MITF 和酪氨酸酶从而抑制黑色素生成。这些结果表明，液体等离子体可用于治疗色素沉着障碍。
