Figure 5

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are not responsible for non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP)-induced proliferation of ASCs.

(A,B) ASCs were pretreated with culture medium alone, 100 μM butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA; A), or 5 mM N-acetylcysteine (NAC; B) and exposed to NTAPP for a total of 10 times. Cells were further incubated for 72 h from the initial NTAPP exposure. The percentage of cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and the results were represented as mean ± SD. N = 4. P < 0.05 (*) indicate differences among each sample. (C) Untreated ASCs and those pretreated with 100 μM BHA or 5 mM NAC were exposed to NTAPP for a total of 10 times, and their intracellular ROS levels were monitored at 9 h from the initial exposure. Cells treated with 100 μM tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) were used as the positive control for ROS generation. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst 33342. Scale bar, 50 μm.