Modulation of calcium signaling by nanosecond electric pulses and cell death through apoptosis in A549 lung cancerous cells

Kamlesh Awasthi*, Feng Lin Chang, Tsai En Wu, Hsin-Yun Hsu, Nobuhiro Ohta

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Calcium ion (Ca2+), which serves as one of the important signaling agents, is imperative to control normal cell function. The altered Ca2+ signaling is known to play a crucial role in the resistance of cancerous cells against apoptosis. Herein, nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) was applied to non-small lung cancerous cells A549, and Ca2+ mobilization along with mitochondria-mediated apoptotic cell death that accompanies morphological changes was investigated. In the presence of nsPEF, intracellular mobilization of Ca2+ ions through the efflux from endoplasmic reticulum storage was dependent on the pulse-width of the applied field. The field-induced Ca2+ mobilization has shown to correlate with the superoxide anion (O2) generation, which probably occurred in mitochondria utilizing the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), as supported by the field-induced change in autofluorescence intensity and lifetime of NADH. Mitochondrial dysfunction and O2 generation, which promoted apoptotic cell death, were also induced by nsPEF with strong correlation with intracellular Ca2+ ions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number132348
JournalSensors and Actuators, B: Chemical
Volume369
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Oct 2022

Keywords

  • Apoptotic cell death
  • Intracellular Ca imaging
  • Mitochondrial dysfunction
  • NADH autofluorescence lifetime imaging
  • Nanosecond pulsed electric field effect
  • Reactive superoxide anion

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