Hypericin-Based Photodynamic Therapy Displays Higher Selectivity and Phototoxicity towards Melanoma and Squamous Cell Cancer Compared to Normal Keratinocytes In Vitro.

Int J Mol Sci

Department of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Division of General and Experimental Pathology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland.

Published: November 2023

The aim of this study was to explore the potential of hypericin, a naturally occurring photosensi-tizer, for photodynamic therapy (PDT) in skin cancer, investigating its phototoxic effects and mechanisms of action in cancer cells compared to normal skin keratinocytes, squamous cell cancer (SCC-25) cells and melanoma (MUG-Mel2) cells. Hypericin was applied at concentrations ranging from 0.1-40 μM to HaCaT, SCC-25, and MUG-Mel2 cells. After 24 h of incubation, the cells were exposed to orange light at 3.6 J/cm or 7.2 J/cm. Phototoxicity was assessed using MTT and SRB tests. Cellular uptake was measured by flow cytometry. Apoptosis-positive cells were estimated through TUNEL for apoptotic bodies' visualization. Hypericin exhibited a higher phototoxic reaction in cancer cells compared to normal keratinocytes after irradiation. Cancer cells demonstrated increased and selective uptake of hypericin. Apoptosis was observed in SCC-25 and MUG-Mel2 cells following PDT. Our findings suggest that hypericin-based PDT is a promising and less invasive approach for treating skin cancer. The higher phototoxic reaction, selective uptake by cancer cells, and observed proapoptotic properties support the promising role of hypericin-based PDT in skin cancer treatment.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10707231PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316897DOI Listing

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