Effectiveness of ZnPc and of an amine derivative to inactivate Glioblastoma cells by Photodynamic Therapy: an in vitro comparative study

VELAZQUEZ, FN; MIRETTI, M; BAUMGARTNER, M. T; CAPUTTO, BL; TEMPESTI, T. C; PRUCCA, CG

Scientific Reports

Nature Publishing Group

Año: 2019

2045-2322

Glioblastoma multiforme is considered to be one of the most aggressive typesof tumors of the central nervous system, with a poor prognosis and shortsurvival periods of ~ one year. The current protocol for glioblastomatreatment includes the surgical excision of the primary tumor followed byradio and chemotherapy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered apromising strategy for the treatment of several types of tumors.Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are good photosensitizers (PSs) for PDT because theyinduce cell death in several cellular models. ZnPc (Zn(II)phthalocyanine) is awell-known Pc, extensively tested in different cells and tumor models, but itsevaluation on a glioblastoma model has been poorly studied. Herein, wecompare the capacity of ZnPc and one of its derivatives,Zn(II)tetraminephthalocyanine (TAZnPc), to photoinactivate glioblastomacells (T98G, MO59, LN229 and U87-MG) in culture. We measured thecellular uptake, the toxicity in the dark and the subcellular localization of thedifferent Pcs, as well as the clonogenic capacity of surviving cells after PDT.The mechanism of cell death induced after PDT was determined bymeasuring caspase 3 activation, DNA fragmentation, phosphatidylserineexternalization, mitochondrial morphological changes and loss ofmitochondrial membrane potential as well as lysosomal membrane integrity.Overall, ZnPc and TAZnPc present good properties to be used as PSs withphotoinactivation capacity on glioblastoma cells.