Effect of novel porphyrazine photosensitizers on normal and tumor brain cells

Effect of novel porphyrazine photosensitizers on normal and tumor brain cells:

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy is a clinically approved procedure for targeting tumor cells. Though several different photosensitizers have been developed, there is still much demand for novel photosensitizers with improved properties. In this study we aim to characterize the accumulation, localization and dark cytotoxicity of the novel photosensitizers developed in‐house derivatives of porphyrazines (pz I‐IV) in primary murine neuronal cells, as well as to identify the concentrations at which pz still effectively induces death in glioma cells yet is non‐toxic to non‐transformed cells. The study shows that incubation of primary neuronal and glioma cells with pz I‐IV leads to their accumulation in both types of cells, but their rates of internalization, sub‐cellular localization and dark toxicity differ significantly. Pz II was the most promising photosensitizer. It efficiently killed glioma cells while remaining non‐toxic to primary neuronal cells. This opens up the possibility of evaluating pz II for experimental photodynamic therapy for glioma.

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