Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma on Hyperglycemia and Immunity in the Spleen of STZ Diabetic Mice

Abstract

Diabetic hyperglycemia is a metabolic scenario that disturbs immunity and promotes inflammatory reactions. On the other hand, many biomedical applications benefit from cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). In this study, the effect of CAP treatment on a diabetic mice model was evaluated by examining splenic immune cells and inflammatory parameters that modulate diabetes-induced immune dysfunction. Twenty-four adult male BALB/c mice (25–30 g) were randomly divided into four groups: 1) negative control; 2) control treated by CAP; 3) streptozotocin (STZ)-injected diabetics (60 mg/kg animal weight); and 4) STZ-injected diabetics treated with direct CAP for 10 s daily for two months. Fasting blood glucose levels, antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione reductase), spleen tissue histopathology, and Immunohistochemistry (active caspase 3, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cluster of differentiation 68 for macrophages (CD68), and tumor necrosis factor <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) were examined. Diabetic mice treated with CAP had improved spleen histological morphology, and significantly increased in antioxidant enzymes, white pulp diameter, lymphocyte density, and immune cell proliferation. Moreover, Mallory-stained collagen fibrosis, TNF<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, CD68 positive macrophages and caspase 3 activated immune cells were significantly decreased. The antioxidant effect of RONS, produced by CAP, reduces hyperglycemia, reconstitutes splenic immune cells, and regulates inflammatory cells, Cytokines, and programmed cell death.