Combination photodynamic therapy of human breast cancer using salicylic acid and methylene blue

Interkingdom Hormonal Regulations between Plants and Animals Provide New Insight into Food Safety

Food safety has become an attractive topic among consumers. Raw material production for food is also a focus of social attention. As hormones are widely used in agriculture and human disease control, consumers' concerns about the safety of hormone agents have never disappeared. The present review focuses on the interkingdom regulations of exogenous animal hormones in plants and phytohormones in animals, including physiology and stress resistance. We summarize these interactions to give the public, researchers, and policymakers some guidance and suggestions. Accumulated evidence demonstrates comprehensive hormonal regulation across plants and animals. Animal hormones, interacting with phytohormones, help regulate plant development and enhance environmental resistance. Correspondingly, phytohormones may also cause damage to the reproductive and urinary systems of animals. Notably, the disease-resistant role of phytohormones is revealed against neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. These resistances derive from the control for abnormal cell cycle, energy balance, and activity of enzymes. Further exploration of these cross-kingdom mechanisms would surely be of greater benefit to human health and agriculture development.

The Effect of Berberine Follow by Blue Light Irradiation and Valproic Acid on the Growth Inhibition of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer after lung cancer in the world. Due to the anti-cancer properties of Berberine (Ber), in this study, the effect of combination therapy of Ber in the presence of blue LED irradiation and Valproic acid (Val) on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line was investigated. For this reason, after culturing the cells using different concentrations of Ber and Val, breast cancer cells were treated in both mono-treatment and combination therapy. In combination therapy, two modes were considered: (1) treatment with Val and then treatment with Ber in the dark or in presence of blue light irradiation (PDT)at a wavelength of 465 nm and energy of 30 J/cm2 for 15 min, and (2) treatment with Ber in the dark or PDT and then treated with Val. In all cases, cell viability, morphological changes, and colonization were assessed. Evaluation of apoptosis was performed by fluorescence microscope and flow cytometry. According to the results, combination therapy has a higher mortality rate compared to mono-treatment, and in combination therapy, treatment of cells first with Ber (10 µg/mL)-PDT and then treatment with Val (250 µg/mL) caused a significant reduction (P < 0/05) in the survival rate of cancer cells. According to the findings, it can be said that the use of Ber-PDT in combination with Val, in addition to reducing the dose of the drug, has shown a synergistic effect which can suggest the potential of this strategy as a new treatment.

Combinations of Photodynamic Therapy with Other Minimally Invasive Therapeutic Technologies against Cancer and Microbial Infections

The rapid rise in research and development following the discovery of photodynamic therapy to establish novel photosensitizers and overcome the limitations of the technology soon after its clinical translation has given rise to a few significant milestones. These include several novel generations of photosensitizers, the widening of the scope of applications, leveraging of the offerings of nanotechnology for greater efficacy, selectivity for the disease over host tissue and cells, the advent of combination therapies with other similarly minimally invasive therapeutic technologies, the use of stimulus-responsive delivery and disease targeting, and greater penetration depth of the activation energy. Brought together, all these milestones have contributed to the significant enhancement of what is still arguably a novel technology. Yet the major applications of photodynamic therapy still remain firmly located in neoplasms, from where most of the new innovations appear to launch to other areas, such as microbial, fungal, viral, acne, wet age-related macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, psoriasis, environmental sanitization, pest control, and dermatology. Three main value propositions of combinations of photodynamic therapy include the synergistic and additive enhancement of efficacy, the relatively low emergence of resistance and its rapid development as a targeted and high-precision therapy. Combinations with established methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy and demonstrated applications in mop-up surgery promise to enhance these top three clinical tools. From published in vitro and preclinical studies, clinical trials and applications, and postclinical case studies, seven combinations with photodynamic therapy have become prominent research interests because they are potentially easily applied, showing enhanced efficacy, and are rapidly translating to the clinic. These include combinations with chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, magnetic hyperthermia, cold plasma therapy, sonodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Photochemical internalization is a critical mechanism for some combinations.

Nanoencapsulation of Methylene-Blue for Enhanced Skin Cancer Cell Phototoxicity and Cutaneous Penetration in Association with Sonophoresis

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using methylene blue (MB) as a photosensitizer has emerged as an alternative treatment for skin cancers, such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To increase the cutaneous penetration of the drug, some strategies are used, such as the association of nanocarriers and physical methods. Thus, herein we address the development of nanoparticles based on poly-Ɛ-caprolactone (PCL), optimized with the Box-Behnken factorial design, for topical application of MB associated with sonophoresis. The MB-nanoparticles were developed using the double emulsification-solvent evaporation technique and the optimized formulation resulted in an average size of 156.93 ± 8.27 nm, a polydispersion index of 0.11 ± 0.05, encapsulation efficiency of 94.22 ± 2.19% and zeta potential of -10.08 ± 1.12 mV. Morphological evaluation by scanning electron microscopy showed spherical nanoparticles. In vitro release studies show an initial burst compatible with the first-order mathematical model. The nanoparticle showed satisfactory generation of reactive oxygen species. The MTT assay was used to assess cytotoxicity and IC₅₀; values of 79.84; 40.46; 22.37; 9.90 µM were obtained, respectively, for the MB-solution and the MB-nanoparticle without and with light irradiation after 2 h of incubation. Analysis using confocal microscopy showed high cellular uptake for the MB-nanoparticle. With regard to skin penetration, a higher concentration of MB was observed in the epidermis + dermis, corresponding to 9.81, 5.27 μg/cm² in passive penetration and 24.31 and 23.81 μg/cm² after sonophoresis, for solution-MB and nanoparticle-MB, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of MB encapsulation in PCL nanoparticles for application in skin cancer using PDT.

Nanotherapeutic Intervention in Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer

The clinical need for photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been growing for several decades. Notably, PDT is often used in oncology to treat a variety of tumors since it is a low-risk therapy with excellent selectivity, does not conflict with other therapies, and may be repeated as necessary. The mechanism of action of PDT is the photoactivation of a particular photosensitizer (PS) in a tumor microenvironment in the presence of oxygen. During PDT, cancer cells produce singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon activation of PSs by irradiation, which efficiently kills the tumor. However, PDT's effectiveness in curing a deep-seated malignancy is constrained by three key reasons: a tumor's inadequate PS accumulation in tumor tissues, a hypoxic core with low oxygen content in solid tumors, and limited depth of light penetration. PDTs are therefore restricted to the management of thin and superficial cancers. With the development of nanotechnology, PDT's ability to penetrate deep tumor tissues and exert desired therapeutic effects has become a reality. However, further advancement in this field of research is necessary to address the challenges with PDT and ameliorate the therapeutic outcome. This review presents an overview of PSs, the mechanism of loading of PSs, nanomedicine-based solutions for enhancing PDT, and their biological applications including chemodynamic therapy, chemo-photodynamic therapy, PDT-electroporation, photodynamic-photothermal (PDT-PTT) therapy, and PDT-immunotherapy. Furthermore, the review discusses the mechanism of ROS generation in PDT advantages and challenges of PSs in PDT.

Solar Heterogenous Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylthionine Chloride on a Flat Plate Reactor: Effect of pH and H2O2 Addition

Methylthionine chloride (MTC) is a compound with several applications both in the clinical and medical industries. Nevertheless, such compounds can become an environmental problem, as they are not properly treated by wastewater treatment plants. This objective of this work was to study MTC degradation in a flat plate reactor through solar photolysis and heterogeneous photocatalysis processes with TiO2 as a catalyst. In addition to the processes, three pH (3.5, 6.5, and 9) and the effect of H2O2 addition (no dose, 0.5, and 1 mM/L) were tested. The results show that acidic pH is the most appropriate for MTC degradation, which ranged between 56% and 68.7% for photolysis and between 76% and 86.7% in photocatalysis. The H2O2 addition resulted in lower degradation in all cases, leading the authors to conclude that the presence of peroxide actually hinders degradation in solar photolysis and photocatalysis processes. Statistical analysis showed that the constant rate reactions calculated for every process, under the same conditions of pH and H2O2 addition, are significantly different from one another, and the three factors considered for experimental design (process, pH, and H2O2) have a statistically significant effect on MTC degradation. The collector area per order confirmed higher efficiency for photocatalysis when compared to photolysis processes.

Quality Characteristics and Antioxidant Potential of Lemon (Citrus limon Burm. f.) Seed Oil Extracted by Different Methods

Lemon (Citrus limon Burm. f.) is one of the most widely produced and consumed fruits in the world. The seeds of lemon are generally discarded as waste. The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality characteristics and antioxidant potential of lemon seed oil obtained by four extraction methods (roasted-pressing at 170°C, RP-170; roasted-pressing at 100°C, RP-100; cold-pressing, CP; and supercritical fluid, SF). No significant differences in the viscosity, density, and refractive index were observed in the oil obtained from different methods. In the case of Hunter's value, L (lightness) and b (yellowness) values of SF were higher than those of the others. The oil obtained by the CP method exhibited higher levels of Ca (252.17 mg/kg), Cu (2.38 mg/kg), K (225.98 mg/kg), and Mo (0.47 mg/kg) than that of other methods. The highest contents of total phenols (165.90 mg/mL) and flavonoids (21.69 mg/mL) were significantly high in oil obtained by the SF method. Oleic and linoleic acids consisted of principal fatty acids, which were significantly higher in oil obtained by RP-170. Higher amounts of volatile flavor compounds, such as γ-terpinene, sabinene, and limonene, were observed in CP compared to those observed for the other methods. This study elucidates the effects of different methods of oil extraction on the composition of lemon seed oil and highlights potential applications of these benefits in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and/or fragrance industries.

Synergistic effect of photodynamic treatment and doxorubicin on triple negative breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is a metastatic cancer that can spread to other organs, such as the bone, liver, and brain. There are many treatments for breast cancer, such as surgery and chemotherapy, but they lead to resistance and side effects. Therefore, the discovery of new therapies with high efficacy and low toxicity that selectively affect cancer cells is of great importance. Of late, the combination therapy has been suggested as a novel approach compared to existing treatments. In the present study, the effect of the combined treatment of doxorubicin (DOX) and methylene blue activated in the presence of laser irradiation (PDT) on triple-negative breast cancer cells has been investigated. Human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 was exposed to different concentrations of DOX, methylene blue (MB) and DOX-methylene blue (MB-DOX) combination therapy in two different conditions: first the treatment with DOX and then with MB-PDT, and another treatment first with MB-PDT and then with DOX. Cell viability was evaluated using the MTT assay. Morphological and colonization changes were observed by light microscopy. The occurrence of apoptotic cell death was assessed by double-staining ethidium bromide-acridine orange using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. The results showed that the combination of using MB-PDT, followed by DOX (even at low concentrations), has a better effect on inducing cancer cell death in comparison to DOX alone. The result of this study suggests that the combination therapy of MB-PDT-DOX can be used as a potential strategy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Low-level laser irradiation potentiates anticancer activity of p-coumaric acid against human malignant melanoma cells

p-Coumaric acid (PCA) is a kind of phenolic compound, and as one of the cinnamic acid derivatives, it has many biological functions such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, and anticancer activity. Low-level laser irradiation has received increasing interest in the fields of tissue regeneration and wound healing. In this study, the effect of low-level laser irradiation on human fibroblast cells (human dermal fibroblast) and human melanoma cancer cells (A375 and SK-MEL-37) treated with PCA was investigated. The human dermal fibroblast, A375, and SK-MEL-37 cells were exposed to low-level laser at 660-nm wavelength with 3 J/cm for 90 s, and then the cells were treated with different concentrations of PCA (0-1000 μg/ml for 24 h), separately. In another experiment, first the cells were treated by PCA and then irradiated with low-level laser as described before. The effect of various irradiation energy (1-6 J/cm) on the melanoma cells, which were then treated by PCA, was studied. The cell viability using MTT assay and lactate dehydrogenase assay was determined. Morphological changes owing to apoptosis induction by irradiation and PCA were detected by fluorescence microscopy using acridine orange/ethidium bromide double staining. The results showed that pretreatment with low-level laser irradiation and then PCA reduced the survival and growth of melanoma cells more than the early treatment with PCA and then low-level laser irradiation. Lactate dehydrogenase activity was reduced significantly by preirradiation and then PCA treatment in comparison with the dark group in melanoma cells. The cell cytotoxicity at different irradiation energy and then IC50 concentration of PCA was increased up to 3 J/cm and then decreased following increasing irradiation energy. The morphology study with light microscopy and apoptotic assay using acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual staining confirmed the MTT results. This study showed that low-level laser irradiation alone is not able to kill human normal fibroblast and human melanoma cancer cells. Preirradiation followed by treatment with PCA did not change the cell viability in human fibroblast significantly but reduced the cell viability in melanoma cells presumably through the apoptosis pathway.

Molecular interaction and cellular studies on combination photodynamic therapy with rutoside for melanoma A375 cancer cells: an in vitro study

Background

Melanoma as a type of skin cancer, is associated with a high mortality rate. Therefore, early diagnosis and efficient surgical treatment of this disease is very important. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the activation of a photosensitizer by light at specific wavelength that interacts with oxygen and creates singlet oxygen molecules or reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to tumor cell death. Furthermore, one of the main approches in the prevention and treatment of various cancers is plant compounds application. Phenolic compounds are essential class of natural antioxidants, which play crucial biological roles such as anticancer effects. It was previously suggested that flavonoid such as rutoside could acts as pro-oxidant or antioxidant. Hence, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of rutoside on the combination therapy with methylene blue (MB) assisted by photodynamic treatment (PDT) using red light source (660 nm; power density: 30 mW/cm²) on A375 human melanoma cancer cells.

Methods

For this purpose, the A375 human melanoma cancer cell lines were treated by MB-PDT and rutoside. Clonogenic cell survival, MTT assay, and cell death mechanisms were also determined after performing the treatment. Subsequently, after the rutoside treatment and photodynamic therapy (PDT), cell cycle and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were measured.

Results

The obtained results showed that, MB-PDT and rutoside had better cytotoxic and antiprolifrative effects on A375 melanoma cancer cells compared to each free drug, whereas the cytotoxic effect on HDF human dermal fibroblast cell was not significant. MB-PDT and rutoside combination induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the human melanoma cancer cell line. Intracellular ROS increased in A375 cancer cell line after the treatment with MB-PDT and rutoside.

Conclusion

The results suggest that, MB-PDT and rutoside could be considered as novel approaches as the combination treatment of melanoma cancer.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 5,6,7-trimethoxy flavonoid salicylate derivatives as potential anti-tumor agents

5,6,7-Trimethoxy flavonoid salicylate derivatives were designed by the joining of three important pharmacophores (TMP, flavonoid, and SA) according to the combination principle. A series of novel trimethoxy flavonoid salicylate derivatives were synthesized and their in vitro anti-tumor activities were evaluated. Among these derivatives, compound 7f exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity against HGC-27 cells and MGC-803 cells with IC₅₀ values of 10.26 ± 6.94 μM and 17.17 ± 3.03 μM, respectively. Subsequently, the effects on cell colony formation (clonogenic survival assay), cell migration (wound healing assay), cell cycle distribution (PI staining assay), cell apoptosis (Hoechst 33258 staining assay and annexin V-FITC/PI dual staining assay), lactate level (lactate measurement), microtubules disarrangement (immunofluorescence staining analysis) and docking posture (molecular docking simulation) were determined. Further western blot analysis confirmed that compound 7f could effectively down-regulate the expression of glycolysis-related proteins HIF-1α, PFKM and PKM2 and tumor angiogenesis-related proteins VEGF. Overall, these studies suggested that compound 7f, as the representative compound of those, might be a promising candidate for the treatment of gastric cancer and deserved the further studies.

Anti-cancer effect of gallic acid in presence of low level laser irradiation: ROS production and induction of apoptosis and ferroptosis

BACKGROUND

There are different treatments for breast cancer and melanoma that mostly have some side effects. One of the therapeutic strategies is the use of natural components. Phenol components are a class of antioxidants in plants that have many biological functions like anticancer effects. Gallic acid (GA) is a natural polyhydroxy phenolic compound and commonly found in various foods. In the present study, GA effects alone and in combination with low-level laser irradiation on human dermal fibroblast cell line (HDF), human non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cell line (MCF10A), breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and melanoma cancer cell line (A375) was under the investigation.

METHODS

The normal and cancerous cell lines were exposed to 660 nm low-level laser with 3 J/cm2 for 90 s. Then, the cells were treated with different concentrations of GA for 24 h. In another study, the cell lines firstly were treated with GA and then exposed to low-level laser irradiation. The effects of GA and low-level laser on cell survival and apoptosis were examined using MTT assay, light microscopy, ROS production assay, fluorescence microscopy (AO/EB double staining) and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

The results showed that pre-treatment with low-level laser and then GA reduced the survival of breast cancer cells and melanoma more than the first treatment with GA and then low-level laser irradiation. Our findings showed that ROS production in cells treated with both low-level laser and GA was more than the cells treated with GA alone. The apoptosis and ferroptosis assays confirmed the MTT results which combination treatment with low-level laser and then GA increase the cell death probably via apoptosis and ferroptosis cell death mechanisms compared to GA alone.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that low-level laser irradiation alone is not able to cause death in human normal and cancerous cells. Preirradiation followed by GA treatment did not change the cell viability in human normal significantly but reduces the cell survival of cancer cells more than GA alone.

Photodynamic effect of Zirconium phosphate biocompatible nano-bilayers containing methylene blue on cancer and normal cells

Pharmaceutical applications of methylene blue, especially as photosensitizer, have been limited due to its rapid enzymatic reduction in the biological systems. In this study nano-platelet zirconium phosphate was synthesized and its biocompatibility was evaluated. The synthesized material was considered as drug delivery vehicle for methylene blue to enhance the photodynamic therapy efficacy in human breast cancer cells. Zirconium phosphate-methylene blue nano-hybrids were characterized by X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Thermo gravimetric Analysis (TGA). Biocompatibility of synthesized nano materials were studied on Hu02 human fibroblast normal cell and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell. The results clarified that ZrP-MB nanoparticles could decrease the dark toxicity of free methylene blue. Photodynamic therapy using zirconium phosphate-methylene blue on MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer was evaluated by MTT assay, colony forming ability assay, AO/EB dual staining and flow cytometry detection of apoptosis. The results suggest that zirconium phosphate-methylene blue nano-hybrids significantly enhance photodynamic therapy efficacy probably via apoptosis cell death mechanism against human breast cancer cells. According to the results, zirconium phosphate nanoparticles could be suggested as a promising nano-carrier for photosensitizer delivery in photodynamic therapy.

Anticancer Photodynamic Therapy Properties of Sulfur-Doped Graphene Quantum Dot and Methylene Blue Preparations in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Culture

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a field with many applications including chemotherapy. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) exhibit a variety of unique properties and can be used in PDT to generate singlet oxygen that destroys pathogenic bacteria and cancer cells. The PDT agent, methylene blue (MB), like GQDs, has been successfully exploited to destroy bacteria and cancer cells by increasing reactive oxygen species generation. Recently, combinations of GQDs and MB have been shown to destroy pathogenic bacteria via increased singlet oxygen generation. Here, we performed a spectrophotometric assay to detect and measure the uptake of GQDs, MB and several GQD-MB combinations in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Then, we used a cell counting method to evaluate the cytotoxicity of GQDs, MB and a 1:1 GQD:MB preparation. Singlet oxygen generation in cells was then detected and measured using singlet oxygen sensor green. The dye, H₂ DCFDA, was used to measure reactive oxygen species production. We found that GQD and MB uptake into MCF-7 cells occurred, but that MB, followed by 1:1 GQD:MB, caused superior cytotoxicity and singlet oxygen and reactive oxygen species generation. Our results suggest that methylene blue's effect against MCF-7 cells is not potentiated by GQDs, either in light or dark conditions.

Blue Methylene Retrieval using Silica-Salicylic Acid Modified Filtering

The retrieval of methylene blue using a silica-modified sulfide-salicylic acid has been carried out. Salicylate-silica-acid alloys have been prepared by comparing the four media ie filter paper, silica-filter paper, salicylic acid-filter paper and salicylic acid-silica-filter paper. This study aims to study the recovery of methylene blue using salicylic acid-modified silica filtering with various parameters on the adsorption and desorption process. The results showed that the salicylic acid-silica alloy could improve the capability of methylene blue removal. The result of pH variation on the adsorption process showed that at pH 7 methylene blue can be taken 92.89%. Whereas at concentration variation, salicylic acid at 5 mM can take methylene blue equal to 92.86%. The desorption results showed that pH 1 methylene blue could be desorbed at 308.89 mg/g, while the variation of contact time of desorption ie at 110 minutes could an saturate the blue methylene by 589,61 mg/g. The UV-Vis analysis showed a decrease in absorbance in salicylic acid after contact with silica. The FTIR analysis also shows that in salicylate-silica-acid alloys there are Si-O groups derived from silica and C = O derived from salicylic acid.