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Topology-Based Prediction of Pathway Dysregulation Induced by Intense Terahertz Pulses in Human Skin Tissue Models

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Abstract

The strong interaction between terahertz (THz) radiation and biological systems has motivated the development of several biomedical technologies, including imaging and spectroscopy applications with promising potential for improved disease diagnosis. This interaction mechanism also implies that external excitation with intense pulses of THz energy could couple to important biological structures and induce significant downstream phenotypic effects. In this study, we expose human skin tissue models to a prolonged train of high-intensity THz pulses and measure the resulting global differential gene expression. From these data, signal pathway perturbation analysis identified pathways that are predicted to be significantly dysregulated, including the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and glioma pathways, and further identified the gene-level mechanisms predominantly responsible. These results indicate that induction of an inflammatory-like response and suppression of division/differentiation in cancer are possible. These effects could be further explored and characterized in different types of normal and cancerous tissues to determine potential novel clinical applicability of intense THz pulses.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from NSERC, CFI, and the AITF Strategic Chairs Program, and technical assistance from Beipei Shi, Greg Popowich, Matt Reid, Rocio Rodriguez-Juarez, Rommy Rodriguez-Juarez, Andrey Golubov, and Yaroslav Ilnytskyy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Physics Division, Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada

    Cameron M. Hough & Brad J. Warkentin

  2. Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada

    Cameron M. Hough, David N. Purschke, Chenxi Huang & Frank A. Hegmann

  3. Department of Physics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01609, USA

    Lyubov V. Titova

  4. Department of Biology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada

    Olga Kovalchuk

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  1. Cameron M. Hough
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  4. Lyubov V. Titova
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Correspondence to Cameron M. Hough.

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Hough, C.M., Purschke, D.N., Huang, C. et al. Topology-Based Prediction of Pathway Dysregulation Induced by Intense Terahertz Pulses in Human Skin Tissue Models. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 39, 887–898 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-018-0512-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-018-0512-4

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