Intense terahertz pulses inhibit Ras signaling and other cancer-associated signaling pathways in human skin tissue models

• Published in: JPhys photonics 2021-07, Vol.3 (3), p.34004
• Main Authors: Hough, Cameron M, Purschke, David N, Huang, Chenxi, Titova, Lyubov V, Kovalchuk, Olga V, Warkentin, Brad J, Hegmann, Frank A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological effects; Biomedical materials; calcium signaling; Cancer; cancer pathways; cell signaling; Gene expression; Molecular structure; Perturbation methods; Radiation; Ras signaling; Signaling; Skin; terahertz pulses
• ISSN: 2515-7647; 2515-7647
• DOI: 10.1088/2515-7647/abf742

Terahertz (THz) radiation has shown unique advantages in biomedical applications for novel diagnostic technologies due to the high sensitivity to molecular structure and chemical concentration. However, emerging evidence shows that intense pulses of THz radiation can induce significant non-thermal biological effects that must be characterized. In human skin exposed to intense THz pulses, relatively large responses characterized by differential gene expression profiles are observed. These data are analyzed by signaling pathway perturbation analysis to predict phenotypic endpoints and dysregulatory effects on cancer-related processes. The activities of several important pathways that drive the initiation, development, and progression of many human cancers are predicted to be suppressed, and this effect is intensity-dependent. Some affected pathways are targets for current and emerging anti-cancer therapies. In particular, the activity of the Ras signaling and Calcium signaling pathways is predicted to be significantly inhibited. These results indicate the possibility of an additional therapeutic mechanism of intense THz pulses, due to the potential for targeted suppression of pro-mitotic activity in diseased tissue.