Cold air plasma improving rheumatoid arthritis via mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has plagued physicians and patients for years due to the lack of targeted treatment. In this study, inspired by the commonality between rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) and cancer cells, the therapeutic effects of cold air plasma (CAP) on RA are studied systematically and thoroughly. In/ex vivo results show that CAP with the proper dosage significantly relieves symptoms including synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory infiltration, and angiogenesis and eliminates the root cause by triggering the self-antioxidant capability of the surrounding tissue. The mechanism on the molecular and cellular level is also revealed that the spontaneous reactive oxygen species (ROS) cascade induces the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway on RA-FLS. This study reveals a new strategy for targeted treatment of RA and the mechanistic study provides the theoretical foundation for future development of plasma medicine.