Gene Expression and Immunological Evaluations of Plasma Irradiation and Stevia Effects on HepG2 Cell Line

Present study is an attempt to provide an alternative trial of the traditional therapeutic protocols used for cancer treatment, which result in many serious side effects that may lead to death. Plasma medicine is a multidisciplinary field of research combining biology and clinical medicine with plasma physics and chemistry to launch a new cancer treatment modality. Stevia extracts, a natural sweetener derived from the Stevia plant, have anti-cancer properties. Therefore, the current study investigates the outcome of Gliding Arc Discharge plasma (GAD) and Stevia's effects on the HepG2 cell line. Eight groups were categorized as the control group, Stevia extract group (17.5μg/ml), GAD exposed groups with three dose intervals (40, 60, and 80 sec) and combined groups, Stevia extract with each GAD dose. Cell viability, P53 and Bcl2 genes, PARP-1, and TNF-α protein expression were investigated. Results indicated that the most effective treatments occurred in the combined group of GAD exposure with 60 and 80 sec. that record significantly decrease in cell viability of the HepG2 cell line and enhancement of P53 up-regulation, Bcl2 down-regulation, and inhibition of both PARP-1 and TNF-α protein expression. In Conclusion, the current study showed that GAD exposure and Stevia treatment could achieve enhanced tool therapy for some types of cancer through molecular mechanisms of action. Cell line toxicity, activation of the tumor suppressor gene (P53), apoptotic regulator gene (Bcl2), DNA repair gene as PARP-1, and immune editing of TNF-α gene are the main effects of GAD combined with Stevia.