ArticleScientific reports2026
Effects of helium cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on HT-29 cancer stem cell spheroid.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence and therapeutic resistance are largely attributed to cancer stem cells (CSCs), a subpopulation of tumor cells characterized by self-renewal and differentiation capacities. These cells exhibit enhanced antioxidant defenses that maintain redox homeostasis and contribute to resistance against conventional therapies. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a partially ionized gas that generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), has emerged as a promising strategy to exploit redox vulnerabilities in cancer cells; however, its effects on colorectal CSCs remain poorly defined. In this study, CSC-enriched spheroids derived from HT-29 cells were exposed to a helium-based plasma jet for 30 to 240 s. CAP-induced hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) generation was quantified, cell viability was assessed using the MTT assay, self-renewal capacity was evaluated via sphere-forming efficiency, and the expression of stemness-associated genes (SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG) was analyzed by qPCR. CAP treatment generated H₂O₂ in a time-dependent manner across all tested media, with DMEM/F12 supplemented with 10% FBS exhibiting the highest accumulation. Spheroid viability declined proportionally with increasing exposure duration. Notably, CAP markedly suppressed self-renewal capacity. Control spheroids reached a diameter of 247 μm, whereas 240-second CAP exposure reduced the diameter to 87 μm (p < 0.0001), corresponding to a 65% reduction. At the molecular level, OCT4 expression increased by twofold (p < 0.01), while SOX2 and NANOG expression levels remained unchanged. Overall, CAP limits regrowth of HT-29 CSC-enriched spheroids in a time-dependent manner, consistent with ROS-associated oxidative stress, as reflected by H₂O₂ accumulation. The stemness transcriptional response was not uniform with increased OCT4 expression, but unchanged SOX2 and NANOG levels. These findings warrant further translational investigation, including comprehensive reactive-species profiling.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.