Carriero Francesca, Martinelli Carolina, Gabriele Fabio, Barbieri Giulia, Zanoletti Lisa, Milanesi Gloria, Casali Claudio, Azzalin Alberto, Manai Federico, Paolillo Mayra, Comincini Sergio
Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
SKYTEC Srl, 20147 Milan, Italy.
J Pers Med. 2021 Sep 22;11(10):942. doi: 10.3390/jpm11100942.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has recently attracted interest as an innovative and adjuvant treatment for different cancers including malignant gliomas. Among these, Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent neoplasm in the central nervous system. Despite conventional therapeutic approaches that include surgical removal, radiation, and chemotherapy, GBM is characterized by an extremely poor prognosis and a high rate of recurrence. PDT is a physical process that induces tumor cell death through the genesis and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by light energy interaction with a photosensitizing agent. In this contribution, we explored the potentiality of the plant alkaloid berberine (BBR) as a photosensitizing and cytotoxic agent coupled with a PDT scheme using a blue light source in human established astrocytoma cell lines. Our data mainly indicated for the combined BBR-PDT scheme a potent activation of the apoptosis pathway, through a massive ROS production, a great extent of mitochondria depolarization, and the sub-sequent activation of caspases. Altogether, these results demonstrated that BBR is an efficient photosensitizer agent and that its association with PDT may be a potential anticancer strategy for high malignant gliomas.
光动力疗法（PDT）作为一种针对包括恶性胶质瘤在内的不同癌症的创新辅助治疗方法，最近引起了人们的关注。其中，胶质母细胞瘤（GBM）是中枢神经系统中最常见的肿瘤。尽管采用了包括手术切除、放疗和化疗在内的传统治疗方法，但GBM的预后极差且复发率很高。PDT是一种物理过程，通过光能与光敏剂相互作用产生的活性氧（ROS）的生成和积累来诱导肿瘤细胞死亡。在本研究中，我们探讨了植物生物碱黄连素（BBR）作为光敏剂和细胞毒性剂的潜力，并结合蓝光光源在人源星形细胞瘤细胞系中采用PDT方案。我们的数据主要表明，对于联合的BBR-PDT方案，通过大量产生ROS、线粒体去极化程度大幅增加以及随后半胱天冬酶的激活，凋亡途径被有效激活。总之，这些结果表明BBR是一种有效的光敏剂，其与PDT的联合可能是治疗高度恶性胶质瘤的一种潜在抗癌策略。
