title: Reactive oxygen species, especially O2+* in cancer mechanisms.
abstract: In the nature including the human organism there are 5 reactive oxygen species (ROS): O2, O2-*, O2+*, 1O2, O3 with different electromagnetic characteristics and biological effects. The effects of enrichment of medical oxygen O2 with traces of ROS on various cells were tested in experiments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human embryonic lung fibroblasts WI38 damaged by Radon Rn222 into WI38/ Rn cells and WI38 cells transformed by virus SV40 into VA13 cells were exposed to different ROS gas mixtures, prepared in high - voltage plasma chamber of "Oxygen Ion 3000". Trans-membrane resting potential (TMRP) was measured and cells morphology was visually observed using microscopy during 10 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exposition of WI38, WI38/Rn and VA13 to medical O2, alone show no effect in TMRP and in cell morphology. But pico-concentration of O2+* in medical O2 increased the TMRP in WI38/Rn cells from -25mV to -35mV (variance 0.5-2mV) (p < 0.001) with improvement of cells morphology and the TMRP of VA13 cells from -15mV to -32mV (2-3mV) (p < 0.001) with a maximum effect on the 5th day. Later the TMRP strongly decreased and the cell membrane ruptured due to water influx. O2, enriched with O2-* alone or together with O2+* had no significant effect in WI38/Rn and VA13 groups (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radon protective effect on WI38/Rn or destructive effect on VA13 of pico-concentrations of O2+* in medical O2 conforms to the theory of hormesis resp. to hypothesis of cancer induction mechanisms, supporting it's further experimental or clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University P. J. Safarik, Faculty of Medicine, Trieda SNP 1, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Engler
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Atzmüeller
authors.forename: Viliam
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Donic
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Steinhäusler
mesh_terms: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D048430:Cell Shape; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011886:Radon; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002274:Carcinogens, Environmental; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D011886:Radon